DuckDuckGo launches beta feature that blocks third-party tracking on Android

DuckDuckGo introduces App Tracking Protection, a beta feature for its Android app that blocks third-party tracking from other Android apps. With the feature, the company wants to give users a choice of whether or not to allow third-party tracking on Android.

App Tracking Protection for Android will block requests to transfer data to third parties across most Android apps, according to DuckDuckGo. The company also says that it is constantly looking for new trackers to protect its users against them. According to DuckDuckGo, the Android operating system considers the functionality a “local VPN function” but, unlike VPN apps, no data is forwarded to another server.

The trackers of some apps are not blocked for the time being, according to DuckDuckGo, because this could prevent the functioning of those apps. The company does not report which apps those are. Users can also exempt individual apps from the tracking protection by setting this in the app.

Users who signed up for the beta and were accepted will receive a “real-time” view of the blocked trackers and third-party tracking networks that DuckDuckGo was able to identify in the most recent version of the Android app. Users can also view an overview of blocked trackers via notifications.

App Tracking Protection is currently in beta in the Android app and will be a free feature in the DuckDuckGo App. Users must join a waiting list to test the feature. New users are admitted every week. It is not clear when and whether the feature will also come to iOS devices.

DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection for Android