DuckDuckGo’s latest feature stops Android third-party trackers

The privacy-driven tech firm, DuckDuckGo brought Friday to Android’s OS a new feature to prohibit passage from hidden third-party trackers to access its Android platform.

Named “App Tracking Protection for Android,” will follow Apple’s Tracking Transparency tool, and its beta version will mirror the iPhone maker’s iOS controls.

“The idea is we block this data collection from happening from the apps the trackers don’t own,” director of product at DuckDuckGo, Peter Dolanjski, said in a statement.

“You should see far fewer creepy ads following you around online,” he added.

Masses of applications downloaded on users’ devices have third-party trackers hidden in the app’s code, and these trackers observe users’ behavior through a variety of platforms. This helps third-party trackers develop portfolios about the person to incorporate their purchase preference, demographic data, and different information that can be used to deliver accurate and personalized ads recommendations.

According to the privacy-focused company, famous costless Android Apps displayed for users, most of them contain trackers. In fact, in reference to DuckDuckGo’s analysts, 96 percent of them encompass trackers.

Once these trackers are blocked, Google and Facebook – two companies with the most influential trackers – cannot obtain data and send it to the main servers, resulting in a bundle of advertising networks with no data to work with to generate advertisements.

For users, after signing up for the waitlist in the search engine’s app setting, they will have to wait for approval from DuckDuckGo. Then, once these steps are finalized, they personalize whether they want the feature on or off.

The tool simultaneously works as a firewall between any application on the device and the third parties trying to gather data as it runs in the background.

In parallel, the company also added the option of accessing a realistic feed of any attempt from trackers when attempting to nudge Android apps for users’ details.

It is worth mentioning that while the feature is directed at protecting users’ data from third-party trackers, the tool is only applicable to trackers DuckDuckGo is monitoring. Also, the protecting shield does not secure every application, but trackers will still be able to keep tabs via mobile games and browsers.