Comments

You must log in or register to comment.

PredictablePineapple t1_iwmxyiq wrote

Correct me if I’m wrong, but hasn’t the use of local VPN profiles to block trackers already been done by others such as AdGuard and 1Blocker?

6

Hrmbee OP t1_iwmn6v6 wrote

>DuckDuckGo is positioning App Tracking Protection as something like Apple's App Tracking Transparency for iOS devices, but "even more powerful." Enabling the service in the DuckDuckGo app for Android (under the "More from DuckDuckGo" section) installs a local VPN service on your phone, which can then start automatically blocking trackers on DDG's public blocklist. DuckDuckGo says this happens "without sending app data to DuckDuckGo or other remote servers." > >Google recently gave Android users some native tools to prevent wanton tracking, including app-by-app location-tracking approval and a limited native ad-tracking opt-out. Apple's App Tracking Transparency asks if users want to block apps from accessing the Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA), but apps can still use the largest tracking networks across many apps to better profile app users. > >Allison Goodman, senior communications manager for DuckDuckGo, told Ars Technica that App Tracking Protection needs Android's VPN permission so it can monitor network traffic. When it recognizes a tracker from its blocklist, it "looks at the destination domain for any outbound request and blocks them if they are in our blocklist and the requesting app is not owned by the same company that owns the domain." > >Goodman added that "much of the data collected by trackers is not controlled by [Android] permissions," making App Tracking Protection a complementary offering.

It's great to see some more privacy initiatives/innovations from folks such as DDG. This is especially needed in the Android space, given Google/Alphabet's reliance on advertising and data analytics for their revenues.

4

davidcandle t1_iwmpyj8 wrote

DDG are sharing your history

1

humorous_ t1_iwmt399 wrote

And if you’re in America, your ISP was already doing that. Isn’t capitalism neat?

3

hateitorleaveit t1_iwongd0 wrote

“Look what they need to mimic a fraction of our power” - apple

0