Duckduckgo tracking? Brave founder criticizes competition for Microsoft URLs

The operators of the Duckduckgo search engine advertise that, unlike others, they attach particular importance to data protection and the privacy of their users. However, security researcher Zach Edwards had recently missed the first gray lines. He found outthat the provider’s mobile browser for iOS and Android advertises blocking trackers, but allows them with certain Microsoft offers. DDG founder Gabriel Weinberg had then responded with a comprehensive statement. Now the founder behind the Brave browser, Brendan Eich, criticizes that the Duckduckgo browser also happens to allow tracking parameters within the URL on the Microsoft side.

As promised, the browser for Mac OS removes the tracking parameters from third-party providers such as Google, for example in the case of “https://example.org/?fbclid=sample” by shortening the “fbclid” parameter. However, this does not happen when it comes to Microsoft’s “msclkid”. Everyone can convince themselves of this, writes Eich on Twitter. There, the Brave founder also points out that the list of blocked URL add-ons is public. “As you can see, Google’s are blocked, Facebook’s as well, and others too. Microsoft’s, conspicuously, aren’t blocked.”

Incomplete data protection: URL add-ons instead of cookies for tracking

Links like these can be used, for example, to track which website users landed on another and thus pay a commission to partner sites. In principle, it is a cookie-free tracking method, even if less data can be collected in the end.

Eich accuses the operators of Duckduckgo of deliberately removing Microsoft from the block list because Bing ads can track users in this way and Bing is DDG’s partner for search ads. “DDG Search allows Bing to bypass tracking protection; DDG’s browsers allow this bypass to generate revenue.”

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Unsurprisingly, as the Brave founder, Eich is also positioning his own product. In his opinion, a data protection brand has the task of putting privacy above everything else. Partners who want to collect user data for the purpose of revenue would also have to submit to this claim. “That’s what @Brave does: Brave doesn’t want to and won’t violate user privacy in order to satisfy partners.”

A Duckduckgo spokesman told The Register that the ads users see are private and are not used to track them. The spokesman rejected Eich’s accusation by stating that the tracking parameters only send an ad click to the provider. It is also emphasized that, according to data from “PrivacyTests”, no browser protects against link tracking. With your own product, however, you have started to protect users from Google and Facebook. It is planned to block tracking parameters from Twitter and Microsoft in the future. Meanwhile, Eich adds on Twitter that an option for private search ads is possible, but also useful. The fact that Big Tech doesn’t do it proves little: you’re working on a solution yourself.

Source: Twitter, The Register