The privacy-focused DuckDuckGo browser app is launching a brand new function on Android that can search to stop third-party corporations tracking users inside Android apps that aren’t their very own.
The function, which is launching in non-public beta inside the DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser, is described by the firm as “the best solution to block trackers lurking in your apps.”
The app tracking protection sounds just like Apple’s App Tracking Transparency opt-out function, which launched final yr in iOS 14.5, however DuckDuckGo says its needs to supply better protection than Apple’s software. No such function at present exists inside Android.
While it exists inside the browser app, it could nonetheless handle to police tracking exercise throughout different apps put in upon your cellphone. Users opting into the beta will repeatedly be told of what number of tracking requests have been worn out.
“Over 96% of the widespread free Android apps we examined (based mostly on AndroidRank.org rankings) contained hidden third-party trackers. Of these, 87% despatched information to Google and 68% despatched information to Facebook,” the firm mentioned in a weblog submit explaining the motive for the function.
In explaining how the function works the firm says it’s going to take motion to dam requests when Android apps try to ship information to the third-parties in search of it.
“You can get pleasure from your apps as you usually would and App Tracking Protection will run in the background and proceed to dam the detected trackers all through your apps, even when you sleep. We are frequently working to establish and shield towards new trackers, so you possibly can relaxation straightforward understanding you’re getting the most modern protection,” the firm writes.
DuckDuckGo says it makes use of a neighborhood VPN connection which retains every thing in your smartphone with out routing the information by an exterior server. You can see the way it works in the gif under.
In order to hitch the waitlist for the beta, the firm says:
Download DuckDuckGo for Android (or replace to the newest model).Open Settings > App Tracking Protection (in the Privacy part).Click “Join the Private Waitlist.”
