The privacy-conscious search engine DuckDuckGo has launched a new feature called App Tranking Protection in its Android application. This feature is still in the private testing stage, you need to join a waiting list by opening the app, entering the settings, and then clicking “Join the Private Waitlist” in the App Tracking Protection section.
Once you have secured your location, the app will prevent apps on your phone from tracking you and sending data back to advertisers. According to DuckDuckGo data, 96% of the most popular free apps on Android contain third-party trackers. The vast majority (87%) will send data to Google, while 68% will send it to Facebook. With the application tracking protection running in the background, these trackers will be detected and blocked.
However, in the current state, application tracking protection has two problems. First, the fact that it sets up a local VPN connection to work. Although it is not a real VPN, it needs to use this part of the Android system to work, so if you do rely on a VPN often then you will not be able to use it in conjunction with application tracking protection.
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Due to the way the Android system works, this problem is unlikely to be resolved; the second problem is that some applications are allowed to send your data to a third party, and this problem will be improved in the future. DuckDuckGo said that this is because these applications rely on tracking to work properly, but it hopes to reduce this allowed list in the future.
If you apply to join the private beta described in the first paragraph, then please keep in mind that you may still encounter problems. If you want a more stable experience, then you have to wait for the feature to be available to everyone in the future. However, the company has not yet given a date for the stable version.