That getting the privacy you deserve should be “as simple as closing the blinds”.ĭuckDuckGo is a useful tool in the arsenal of anyone keen to reign in unnecessary tracking and data collection. They believe the Internet shouldn’t feel so creepy. The premise behind DuckDuckGo is simple, really. So, how to address the problem of privacy-infringing (and just plain creepy) surveillance at this scale? In the absence of outside regulation, users need to educate themselves and take control of their data through the choices they make online. It is likely that Google or Facebook are watching you on many sites you visit, in addition to tracking you when using their products.” The next highest is Twitter with 12 percent. “ What you may not realize, though, is 76 percent of websites now contain hidden Google trackers, and 24 percent have hidden Facebook trackers, according to the Princeton Web Transparency & Accountability Project. You may know that hidden trackers lurk on most websites you visit, soaking up your personal information. “ The impact these two companies have on our privacy cannot be understated. That these two giants are central to the issue of privacy online is not a revelation, but the scale of their data collection is something Weinberg wants people to realize:

You may have seen his recent op-ed piece with CNBC, in which he calls for a stop to the use of hidden trackers in concert with hyper-targeted advertising by Google and Facebook.

Earlier today we launched the latest version of Vivaldi, featuring a new integration with DuckDuckGo that makes searching in a Private Window more private.ĭuckDuckGo’s CEO & Founder, Gabriel Weinberg, is an outspoken proponent of online privacy and giving users the tools to protect their data on the web.

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