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Hmm. Benefit of the doubt, they might have just included this library for something else and might not be fingerprinting/logging individual browsers. I'm sure w

Hmm. Benefit of the doubt, they might have just included this library for something else and might not be fingerprinting/logging individual browsers. I'm sure we'll see a response from DDG on this. uMatrix+disabling Javascript explicitly will help prevent tracking for those who know how. The privacy aspect of DDG was always their marketing point, and I think we all knew it couldn't be totally true. Surely they must be harvesting data of some type, or else how would they expect to earn revenue? Others' have shown that at least some of their services run on AWS, so if Amazon really wanted your data (like if they were served a National Security Letter), I'm sure they could get it without DDG even knowing.

hedora 8y ago
> The privacy aspect of DDG was always their marketing point, and I think we all knew it couldn't be totally true. Surely they must be harvesting data of some type, or else how would they expect to earn revenue? Simple. They can run display ads instead of targeted ads. Since they have the search term you just typed, they know exactly what you’re looking for at this moment, and can target with that.
- guan 8y ago
  It looks like they also insert affiliate codes into search result URLs for sites like Amazon and eBay. https://duck.co/help/company/advertising-and-affiliates https://duck.co/help/company/advertising-and-affiliates
garrettj 8y ago
Yeah. There’s also a JavaScript-free version of DDG entirely but these guys are a bit over dramatic about these types of things.
Geee 8y ago
Keyword based advertising does not require collecting any identifying information.
- justtopost 8y ago
  Except, you know, when the keyword is specific, or lotsbof keywords together form a clear picture, or etc. Etc. Metadata is not anonymous.
octosphere 8y ago
> uMatrix+disabling Javascript explicitly will help prevent tracking for those who know how. For added privacy, combine DDG with Tor Browser Bundle, because remember that although DDG is 'privacy first'; it doesn't stop some intel agency attributing search queries to specific users inside the Internet (which happen to have unique useragent strings and surf with unique IP addresses)

hedora 8y ago

> The privacy aspect of DDG was always their marketing point, and I think we all knew it couldn't be totally true. Surely they must be harvesting data of some type, or else how would they expect to earn revenue? Simple. They can run display ads instead of targeted ads. Since they have the search term you just typed, they know exactly what you’re looking for at this moment, and can target with that.

guan 8y ago
It looks like they also insert affiliate codes into search result URLs for sites like Amazon and eBay. https://duck.co/help/company/advertising-and-affiliates https://duck.co/help/company/advertising-and-affiliates

garrettj 8y ago

Yeah. There’s also a JavaScript-free version of DDG entirely but these guys are a bit over dramatic about these types of things.

Geee 8y ago

Keyword based advertising does not require collecting any identifying information.

justtopost 8y ago
Except, you know, when the keyword is specific, or lotsbof keywords together form a clear picture, or etc. Etc. Metadata is not anonymous.

octosphere 8y ago

> uMatrix+disabling Javascript explicitly will help prevent tracking for those who know how. For added privacy, combine DDG with Tor Browser Bundle, because remember that although DDG is 'privacy first'; it doesn't stop some intel agency attributing search queries to specific users inside the Internet (which happen to have unique useragent strings and surf with unique IP addresses)