{"id":2495,"date":"2022-01-16T19:46:36","date_gmt":"2022-01-16T19:46:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/16\/duckduckgos-app-tracking-protection-is-worth-trying-despite-issues\/"},"modified":"2022-01-16T19:46:36","modified_gmt":"2022-01-16T19:46:36","slug":"duckduckgos-app-tracking-protection-is-worth-trying-despite-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/01\/16\/duckduckgos-app-tracking-protection-is-worth-trying-despite-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"DuckDuckGo’s App Tracking Protection is worth trying, despite issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Last year, privacy-focused search provider DuckDuckGo launched the \u2018App Tracking Protection\u2019 beta, which blocks third-party tracking requests.<\/p>\n

I joined the beta and have been using the feature since late December. Overall, it works fairly well, although I do have a few gripes.<\/p>\n

Since there\u2019s already lots of coverage about what App Tracking Protection is and how it works, I\u2019ll try to keep this part short. DuckDuckGo pitches App Tracking Protection as a way for Android users to opt out of data tracking in smartphone apps. The service is comparable to Apple\u2019s App Tracking Transparency feature, but with a few key differences I\u2019ll dig into more in a bit.<\/p>\n

DuckDuckGo\u2019s App Tracking Protection feature uses Android\u2019s VPN functionality to filter network traffic coming from apps. App Tracking Protection will stop the app from sending that data when it recognizes an app trying to send data to a third-party tracker.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s worth noting that although DuckDuckGo utilizes Android\u2019s VPN functionality, it isn\u2019t a VPN. Instead, DuckDuckGo says the feature uses a local \u201cVPN connection\u201d and handles everything on-device instead of routing users\u2019 data through external servers. This approach lets App Tracking Protection work across most apps on your Android phone. Unfortunately for VPN users, that approach also means you won\u2019t be able to use App Tracking Protection at the same time as an actual VPN.<\/p>\n

For more on the nitty-gritty of how App Tracking Protection works, check out The Verge <\/em><\/a>or DuckDuckGo\u2019s blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Over 2,000 tracking attempts blocked in the past week<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

More important than how App Tracking Protection works is how well <\/em>it works. And so far, I\u2019d say it works pretty well.<\/p>\n

In the time I\u2019ve been using App Tracking Protection on my Pixel 6, I haven\u2019t noticed any significant change to battery life or performance. Running App Tracking Protection also didn\u2019t break any of the apps I use on a regular basis, which is good if you\u2019re worried about that.<\/p>\n

If you did encounter an issue with a specific app, you can exclude individual apps from App Tracking Protection in the DuckDuckGo app\u2019s settings. Speaking of which, one of my few gripes with App Tracking Protection is needing the DuckDuckGo app.<\/p>\n

The app is mainly a web browser with built-in privacy features, but I\u2019ve been a long-time Firefox user and wasn\u2019t interested in switching browsers. You can access App Tracking Protection by opening the app > tapping the three-dot menu button in the top-right corner > Settings > App Tracking Protection. It\u2019s a few hoops to jump through to access this one thing, although you can access it quickly through a notification as well.<\/p>\n

According to the DuckDuckGo app, it blocked 2,301 tracking attempts across 18 apps at the time of writing. While good (and somewhat creepy), it\u2019s worth noting a few things. First, I have 116 apps on my Pixel 6 (at least, according to the Apps menu in the phone\u2019s Settings app). Part of this is because many apps don\u2019t send trackers unless you open them (not all apps, mind you, but at least what I\u2019ve got on my phone).<\/p>\n

Some apps attempted to track me hundreds of times per day<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For example, I occasionally use the JustWatch app to find out if movies I want to see are available on the streaming platforms I use. App Tracking Protection didn\u2019t catch any trackers from JustWatch until I opened it for the first time after I started using the feature. Other apps do send trackers in the background \u2014 App Tracking Protection has blocked over 140 tracking attempts from Starbucks almost every day. I use the app to store a Starbucks card and collect points \u2014 I only open it when I go to Starbucks, something I haven\u2019t done yet this year.<\/p>\n

I also appreciate that App Tracking Protection lets you see what tracking attempts get blocked. Slack, which I use for work, had over 100 blocked tracking attempts every day, but the only third-party tracker getting blocked was called \u2018Bugsnag<\/a>,\u2019 which monitors apps for errors.<\/p>\n

App Tracking Protection also lists several apps that have tracking disabled because of \u201cKnown issues.\u201d I had 10 such apps on my phone, including Spotify, Signal, Discord Doordash and several web browsers like Firefox and Microsoft Edge. I wish the app provided more information about the known issues like it does with web browsers (which the app says it doesn\u2019t block because they load websites). You can choose to override these settings \u2014 I haven\u2019t since I didn\u2019t want to risk breaking anything I use regularly.<\/p>\n

However, that leaves a significant delta between the number of apps I have installed and the number of apps caught tracking me. Many of the apps on my phone are default system apps, which I hope aren\u2019t tracking me, and Google apps \u2014 I know <\/em>those are tracking me. Unfortunately, since DuckDuckGo\u2019s App Tracking Protection focuses on third-party trackers, any tracking done by Google in Google apps will slip through. I\u2019m also sure that App Tracking Protection doesn\u2019t catch all trackers, but that\u2019s something that may change as DuckDuckGo moves out of the beta period.<\/p>\n

How does App Tracking Protection stack up?<\/h2>\n

As DuckDuckGo said, App Tracking Protection allows Android users to block trackers similar to Apple\u2019s App Tracking Transparency feature. However, there are some key differences between the two.<\/p>\n

To start, DuckDuckGo doesn\u2019t benefit from being built-in to the operating system like App Tracking Transparency. As mentioned above, the way DuckDuckGo implemented App Tracking Protection does have some drawbacks (for example, using up the VPN capability). Further, I can tap one button in my iPhone\u2019s settings and enable App Tracking Transparency across all apps on my iPhone \u2014 no worrying about anything breaking.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Apple\u2019s App Tracking Transparency doesn\u2019t currently show which trackers it blocks, which is a nice benefit of DuckDuckGo\u2019s take on the feature. That said, you can enable the \u2018App Privacy Report<\/a>\u2018 in Settings > Privacy on your iPhone, which shows a general overview of domains an app connects to.<\/p>\n

Another core difference is that App Tracking Protection actively blocks known trackers from sending your data, whereas App Tracking Transparency simply prevents apps from accessing your Identifier for Advertisers (IDFA). However, studies reveal that apps don\u2019t need an IDFA to track users<\/a> and can get by with \u2018fingerprinting\u2019 users to track them instead. In other words, App Tracking Transparency doesn\u2019t necessarily stop tracking. I\u2019d be interested to try something like DuckDuckGo\u2019s App Tracking Protection that actively blocks trackers on iOS to see how effective App Tracking Transparency really is.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, DuckDuckGo\u2019s App Tracking Protection is pretty decent. It\u2019s certainly not perfect, but considering the software is still in beta, it should improve in time. It also won\u2019t stop invasive tracking completely. Still, it\u2019s a step in the right direction if you want to be a little more privacy-conscious.<\/p>\n

You can download the DuckDuckGo app on Android for free<\/a>. To get App Tracking Protection, you need to open the menu > Settings > App Tracking Protection > Join the Private Waitlist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n