DuckDuckGo’s search syndication agreement with Microsoft is the root of a problem that causes data to be crawled in the company’s supposedly private mobile web browser.
This week, DuckDuckGo’s mobile browser was discovered to be transferring data to Microsoft properties when you visit certain websites.
This was confirmed by DuckDuckGo CEO Gabriel Weinberg, who is working to preserve the company’s reputation after the potentially harmful discovery was shared on Twitter.
Does this mean that privacy-focused DuckDuckGo isn’t as private as we’ve come to believe?
Here’s what was revealed about DuckDuckGo’s browser, what the CEO has to say in response, and why critics aren’t happy.
The DuckDuckGo browser supports Microsoft crawlers
Security researcher Jacob Edwards posted evidence on a long Twitter thread showing DuckDuckGo’s mobile browser transferring data to LinkedIn and Microsoft’s Bing Ads.
You can capture data within the so-called private browser DuckDuckGo on a website like Facebook, and you’ll see that DDG does NOT stop data streams to Microsoft’s Linkedin domains or its Bing ad domains.
IOS + Android test: ๐๐ซฅ๐ฎโ๐จ๐คกโ๏ธโ๏ธ๐ธ๐ธ๐ธ pic.twitter.com/u3Q30KIs7e
– โจ๐๐ ๐ฅ ๐๐ก๐ด๐๐ฏ๐ก๐ฐ (@thezedwards) May 23, 2022
If this were a web browser from any other company, transferring data to a third party would not be uncommon.
For DuckDuckGo, a company that is marketed as one that does not track users, this is becoming a scandal.
Privacy is the company’s entire mission statement. “We don’t track you. Always,” you can read on the DuckDuckGo homepage at the time of writing.
Therefore, any amount of tracking goes against DuckDuckGo’s mission statement.
While this issue seems to be unique to Microsoft properties, DuckDuckGo still promises a level of security that it does not offer.
DuckDuckGo CEO responds to criticism
Weinberg responded quickly to his company’s criticism, confirming that Microsoft’s followers are not blocked in the DuckDuckGo browser.
However, try to minimize the situation because it does not affect the search results of DuckDuckGo.
“This is not about search,” he said in a statement on the Hacker News forum.
Isn’t it, though?
Were it not for the search syndication agreement between DuckDuckGo and Microsoft, that wouldn’t be a problem in the first place.
While it may have “no influence on our search results,” a DuckDuckGo spokesman told PCMag.com, it is intrinsically related to the search agreement with Microsoft.
DuckDuckGo’s public relations tour doesn’t end here. Anyone who criticizes the company on Twitter finds the same copy and paste response from Weinberg:
“Hello, FYI: This is not our search engine, and we are actually restricting Microsoft scripts to our browsers, including blocking your third-party cookies. If you want full context, I’ve left a detailed explanation on Reddit.
In the Reddit thread to which he links, Weinberg clarifies that DuckDuckGo does not promise anonymity when browsing outside of its search engine.
In addition, it states that “nothing can provide 100% protection”, and what DuckDuckGo offers is “the best for mainstream users”.
To sum up
What are the key points of all this?
In short, the company that promises not to track you is never tracked.
We’ve learned that total anonymity is not guaranteed when browsing DuckDuckGo outside of its search engine.
DuckDuckGo has a contractual obligation to allow Microsoft crawlers in your web browser.
The company continues to promise protection against data crawlers when conducting search queries on DuckDuckGo.com.
It remains to be seen if this has a lasting impact on DuckDuckGo’s reputation.
To DuckDuckGoโs credit, itโs rare to see a CEO face a problem so quickly and publicly address peopleโs concerns. Weinberg has been transparent about the search agreement between DuckDuckGo and Microsoft.
Featured image: Ascannio / Shutterstock