Thanks to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature, iOS users have been enjoying better privacy against nosy ad trackers. For Android users, there’s DuckDuckGo’s newly launched App Tracking Protection tool.
This is a new feature in the alternative search engine’s app that aims to block third-party trackers. With it, intrusive trackers such as Google and Facebook won’t be able to know what you’ve been up to in apps outside their own and collect this information to serve personalized ads.
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When enabled, App Tracking Protection works in the background by scanning data transmission attempts of apps using a local VPN environment. If the tool detects the destination is to a known third-party tracking company, the tool will block the transmission. The DuckDuckGo app then provides a real-time notification to show you how many attempts it has successfully blocked.
DuckDuckGo’s App Tracking Protection for Android isn’t widely available yet, as interested users will have to join a private waitlist via the search engine’s app. Just go to the app’s Settings > App Tracking Protection and click Join the Private Waitlist. As it is, you’ll probably get access first to the tool way before Google follows suit with its own tracking protection, which is bound for Android 12 in 2022.