After Google App added privacy labels to its iOS apps in line with Apple’s new rules, privacy-oriented search engine DuckDuckGo accused Google of spying on users because of the amount of data it collects.
MacRumors reports that after months of delays, Google began adding App privacy labels to its iOS apps according to Apple’s privacy rules. Critics argued that the delay in adding these labels meant that Google had to hide something. The privacy-oriented search engine, DuckDuckgo, now accuses Google of “spying” on users based on the amount of data its privacy labels show that the Masters of the Universe collects.
Google’s new App Privacy Labels on its Google Search app showcases the amount of information the app collects. For third-party advertising purposes, Google collects users’ data including location, search history and browser history. Google’s marketing data includes all of this information, along with contact information and device identifiers, and more data is collected for analysis, app features, and product customization.
After months of hiatus, Google has finally revealed how much personal data they collect in Chrome and the Google app. No wonder they wanted to hide it.
⁰
Spying on users has nothing to do with building a great web browser or search engine. We would know (our app is both in one). pic.twitter.com/lJBbLTjMuu– DuckDuckGo (@DuckDuckGo) 15 March 2021
DuckDuckGo claims that Google wanted to “hide” the information it collects, and that it took the technology giant so long to update its app privacy labels. Most users will not be surprised at how much data Google collects about them, but that it was all gathered in one place in the App Store is a serious reminder to many.
Many of Google’s apps only got privacy labels at the end of February, although Apple’s privacy rules went into effect in December. Google has delayed the labels for some apps for more than two months, even though the Google Maps app has not been updated in the last three months.
DuckDuckGo is a privacy-oriented search engine and web browser that provides an app on iOS devices and can be set as a default search engine. The DuckDuckgo app does not collect data associated with users.
DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser was the second most downloaded mobile browser in the US (after Chrome) and, as you would expect, collects no data linked to you, making it easy to get the privacy you deserve online. Https://t.co/QNfnevurRF
– DuckDuckGo (@DuckDuckGo) 15 March 2021
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News on issues of freedom of speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at [email protected]