DuckDuckGo’s browser does not block Microsoft trackers

DuckDuckGo offers an internet browser that relies on privacy, but it doesn’t happen to block Microsoft trackers. The group had not said anything publicly until then, but the case was revealed thanks to the discovery of a security researcher.

DuckDuckGo’s browser blocks trackers… except those from Microsoft

Security researcher Zach Edwards have noticed that DuckDuckGo’s browser blocks Google and Facebook trackers, but it does not do the same for Microsoft ones. They don’t have any blockages. Microsoft can therefore technically obtain information on Internet users.

Gabriel Weinberg, the founder and boss of DuckDuckGo, reacted to this case. He admitted that the browser voluntarily allows trackers from Microsoft. This is explained by an agreement between the two companies, in connection with research. Also, it assures that it only concerns the browser and not those who use the DuckDuckGo search engine.

The leader also made the following statement to BleepingComputer :

We have always been extremely careful to never promise anonymity while browsing, as this is frankly not possible given how quickly trackers are changing the way they work to evade the protections and tools we currently offer. . When most other browsers on the market talk about tracking protection, they are usually referring to third-party cookie protection and fingerprint protection. Our browsers for iOS, Android, and our new beta for Mac impose these restrictions on third-party tracking scripts, including those from Microsoft.

What we’re talking about here is more protection than most browsers don’t even try to provide, namely blocking third-party tracking scripts before they load on third-party websites. Because we do this where we can, users still enjoy far greater privacy protection with DuckDuckGo than using Safari, Firefox, and other browsers. This blog post we published outlines the real benefits that users experience with this approach, such as faster load times (average 46% decrease) and less data transferred (average 34% decrease). Our goal has always been to provide as much privacy as possible in one download, by default, without complicated settings.