DuckDuckGo Now Offers Tracking Protection On Android Devices

The search engine DuckDuckGo is known for giving its users a lot of privacy. For some time now, DuckDuckGo has also been offering its own browser app. The Android version has now been equipped with new tracking protection that blocks corresponding scripts.

The feature consists of a service that searches for trackers from various companies in the background. Among other things, scripts from Google and Facebook are to be prevented from collecting user data and forwarding it to the appropriate server. The trackers are not only used by Google and Facebook, but also by many third-party providers. The scripts can be found on websites as well as in mobile apps.

Android Tracking Is Everywhere

As DuckDuckGo writes in a blog post, the trackers can be found in 96 percent of free Android apps. While 87 percent of the applications send the data to Google, 68 percent transmit the profiles to Facebook. The tracking protection blocks the respective processes and provides a summary so that it can be tracked in real-time which trackers have been blocked.

Feature Under Development In Beta

At the moment DuckDuckGo has only built tracking protection into the beta version of the mobile browser. In order to participate in the beta, the normal version of the app must first be downloaded. Then there is the option of putting yourself on a waiting list via the settings. After approval, tracking protection can be activated in the settings. The option is in the Privacy submenu.