It could make apps glitch, miss some trackers, or produce any number of other bugs. If you’re going to enable the App Tracking Protection feature, remember it is still in the beta stage. That strips all identifying information away, so it’s not there for anyone (including DuckDuckGo) to get. The new feature stops that by passing your data through a local VPN. Then, profiles are built around your data and sold to advertisers. These companies gain a ton of information, like specifications about your Android device, your location, contact details, and other identifying data. You might not think you need this, but DuckDuckGo’s investigations found the scale of app tracking to be immense.Īccording to them, the “average Android user has 35 apps on their phone.” Those apps can get 1,000-2,000 tracking attempts daily, with data going to over 70 tracking companies.

That means the user is in charge of blocking any apps they want. The difference here is that DuckDuckGo’s implementation doesn’t require the participation of the app developers. The App Tracking Protection feature resembles Apple’s App Tracking Transparency rules. DuckDuckGo can block all third-party Android trackers Image: KnowTechie A list of blocked trackers is also displayed in the app. Once enabled, it runs in the background, blocking third-party tracking in all apps the user opens. It’s part of the DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser, which features private search, email tracking protection, forced HTTPS encryption when possible, and other privacy-focused tools. That’s important, as it keeps your digital fingerprint out of the hands of advertisers. The feature completely blocks all third-party trackers on the Android device it is installed on.

DuckDuckGo’s Android privacy feature, App Tracking Protection, is now available to all users after a year of closed beta testing.

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