Google is slowly updating its many iOS applications with the App Store privacy labels, which set out the type of data collected by users. The Google and Chrome applications have recently been updated with these new labels, and DuckDuckGo is already using them to its advantage.
In a Twitter post this afternoon, DuckDuckGo tackled Google’s privacy labels for Search and Gmail, while also pointing out that the company only added the labels “after months of downtime.” DuckDuckGo has often described itself as a privacy-friendly alternative to Google Apps, and now uses the App Store privacy labels as more proof:
After months of hiatus, Google has finally revealed how much personal data it collects in Chrome and the Google app. No wonder they wanted to hide it. Spying on users has nothing to do with building an excellent web browser or search engine. We would know (our app is both in one).
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.
The image attached to the tweet shows side-by-side comparisons of the DuckDuckGo App Store privacy label, Chrome and Google apps. The DuckDuckGo privacy label indicates that it does not collect any data associated with the user, but the same cannot be said for the Google and Chrome applications.
The privacy labels for Google and Chrome show that data such as location, browser history, financial information, search history, and more are linked to the user for things like analytics, personalization, and third-party ads. None of this needs to be surprising to Google users, but DuckDuck uses it to its advantage.
The privacy tags of the App Store appeared in the App Store in December. These “nutrition labels” for privacy were first introduced at WWDC during the summer. Apple said it aims to better inform consumers about the privacy practices of individual applications. The labels for app privacy are divided into three sections: ‘data used to track you’, ‘data linked to you’ and ‘data not linked to you’.
What do you think of DuckDuckGo using the App Store privacy labels as a way to differentiate itself from Google? Let us know in the comments!
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