With iOS 14, Apple launched a tool called “Application Tracking Transparency” with which it empowered each user to decide if they wanted an app to track their behavior within apps to generate personalized advertising. And while this feature hasn’t come natively to Android, DuckDuckGo has done what Google hasn’t.
According blog info From the popular privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo, its new feature available for Android called “App Tracking Protection for Android” quickly and easily blocks third-party trackers for personalized advertising.
The company mentions that it is not a secret that many services are hidden in popular applications on Android, for example, Google has tracking tools in the Nike app that help it to know the behavior of users.
“These hidden app trackers are super creepy because they can track everything you do in an app and they can also continue to track you even when you’re not using the app. Many of these trackers are designed to record your activity in real time: where you are, what you are doing, where you have been and even how many hours you sleep at night ”, mentioned the company.
DuckDuckGo improves privacy on Android
DuckDuckGo ensures that more than 96% of the most popular free applications on Android contained hidden third-party trackers, of which 87% sent data to Google, and 68% to Facebook, hence the need for a tool that really offer privacy in the world’s most widely used phone operating system.
Although the function of DuckDuckGo is not a VPN, it works as such, since the tool uses a local VPN connection, however, at no time does it route the data of the applications through an external server, which means that you will not have problems with browsing speed.
Once the DuckDuckGo tool is enabled, it will detect when Android applications are about to send data to third-party monitoring companies, so these requests will be blocked.
To ensure its correct operation, the tracking protection will work in the background at all times.
How to install tracking protection?
This feature is built directly into the DuckDuckGo Android app, however it is currently only available in beta. So you will have to join the waiting list.
To join the list you must download the Android app, go to settings and select “Application Tracking Protection” from the privacy tab. Lastly, you just have to join the waiting list and be patient.
DuckDuckGo says that little by little it will allow more users to join the test and in the near future launch the application for all users on Android.