DuckDuckGo’s anti-tracking Android tool could be “even more powerful” than iOS - Ars Technica

App tracking —

App Tracking Protection blocks outbound postulation to listed tracking firms.

Kevin Purdy - Nov 16, 2022 5:18 p.m. UTC

Enlarge / DuckDuckGo says its App Tracking Protection automatically blocks galore kinds of known trackers, portion Apple's App Tracking Transparency lone blocks IDFA (Identifier for Adverstisers) and asks developers to artifact others.

DuckDuckGo

Privacy-focused hunt tract DuckDuckGo has added yet different mode to forestall much of your information from going to advertisers, opening its App Tracking Protection for Android to beta testers.

DuckDuckGo is positioning App Tracking Protection arsenic thing similar Apple's App Tracking Transparency for iOS devices, but "even much powerful." Enabling the work successful the DuckDuckGo app for Android (under the "More from DuckDuckGo" section) installs a section VPN work connected your phone, which tin past commencement automatically blocking trackers connected DDG's public blocklist. DuckDuckGo says this happens "without sending app information to DuckDuckGo oregon different distant servers."

Enlarge / DuckDuckGo's App Tracking Protection shows you specifics connected what your Android apps are trying to send.

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo's App Tracking Protection shows you specifics connected what your Android apps are trying to send.[/ars_img]Google precocious gave Android users immoderate autochthonal tools to forestall wanton tracking, including app-by-app determination tracking approval and a constricted autochthonal ad-tracking opt-out. Apple's App Tracking Transparency asks if users privation to artifact apps from accessing the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), but apps tin inactive use the largest tracking networks crossed galore apps to amended illustration app users.

Allison Goodman, elder communications manager for DuckDuckGo, told Ars Technica that App Tracking Protection needs Android's VPN support truthful it tin show web traffic. When it recognizes a tracker from its blocklist, it "looks astatine the destination domain for immoderate outbound petition and blocks them if they are successful our blocklist and the requesting app is not owned by the aforesaid institution that owns the domain."

Goodman added that "much of the information collected by trackers is not controlled by [Android] permissions," making App Tracking Protection a complementary offering.

App Tracking Protection launched a twelvemonth agone successful a constricted beta. Since then, DuckDuckGo has updated the app to amusement you much accusation astir what kinds of information trackers are trying to collect—"like your precise location, age, and a integer fingerprint of your phone." Through its testing, DuckDuckGo has seen that an Android telephone with 35 apps tin spot 1,000–2,000 tracking attempts each day, sending information to much than 70 companies.

WIRED's Matt Burgess tested the app erstwhile it launched, installing 36 apps connected a caller Pixel 6 Pro and logging into astir fractional of them:

These included the McDonald’s app, LinkedIn, Facebook, Amazon, and BBC Sounds. … I near the telephone unsocial for 4 days and didn’t usage it astatine all. In 96 hours, 23 of these apps had made much than 630 tracking attempts successful the background.

When I opened the McDonald’s app, trackers from Adobe, unreality bundle steadfast New Relic, Google, emotion-tracking steadfast Apptentive, and mobile analytics institution Kochava tried to cod information astir me. Opening the eBay and Uber apps—but not logging into them—was capable to trigger Google trackers.

DuckDuckGo notes that immoderate apps are inactive excluded from tracking extortion due to the fact that they necessitate tracking to enactment properly, peculiarly browsers and apps that person in-app browsers. When I had DuckDuckGo's extortion installed connected an Android telephone aboriginal past year, I had occupation renting scooters and e-bikes from Lime and accessing my flat building's door-unlocking service. Then again, that is apt the benignant of feedback DuckDuckGo is seeking successful this beta.