Trackers from advertisers selling and trading user data must be blocked by the DuckDuckGo browser. But a security researcher has found that it allows Microsoft to track data through the LinkedIn and Bing Ads domains.
DuckDuckGo’s website includes a page saying it has entered into an agreement with Microsoft to display ads next to search results. It claims the tech giant does not store or use ad-click behavior data to profile users, but it does not mention trackers sending the data through LinkedIn and Bing.
In response to the allegations, DuckDuckGo founder and CEO Gabriel Weinberg acknowledged that the company’s agreement with Microsoft required Microsoft to allow trackers.
Weinberg claims that his company remains more private than other browsers because it blocks most non-Microsoft third-party trackers. DuckDuckGo is in talks with Microsoft to remove that section, and it will change the App Store page description in mobile browsers to better inform users.
The company executive gave these clarifications on Twitter: “Unfortunately our Microsoft Search Syndication Agreement prevents us from doing more for Microsoft-owned properties. However, we are continuing to push and look forward to doing more soon.”
He also noted that although the syndication deal includes a privacy term that limits sharing of details, DuckDuckGo is working to change these requirements.
The CEO said on 24 May: “We expect a soon-to-be-released upgrade that will include additional Microsoft third-party protections.”
It should be noted that security researcher Zack Edwards first shared details related to the findings about DuckDuckGo — which sees itself as a direct competitor to Google Search — in a series of tweets.
In recent months, after Russia sent troops to Ukraine, as soon as the CEO announced that DuckDuckGo users criticized the platform, the company would take significant steps that would down-rank Russia-linked sites that spread misinformation. .
Several Twitter users have reacted to Weinberg’s tweets with mainly unfavorable remarks, accusing the firm of censorship and bias in search results.
But Weinberg said: “The whole point of DuckDuckGo is privacy. The whole purpose of search engines is to show more relevant content over less relevant content, and that’s what we continue to do.”
At the time, he also told a Twitter user: “Search engines by definition try to keep more relevant content higher and less relevant content lower – that’s not censorship, it’s search ranking relevance.”
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