In a new effort to help consumers score privacy wins, DuckDuckGo is taking the rather unusual approach of “naming names.”
New reports from CNET today show that the privacy-focused company is poised to publicly release a data set called Tracking Radar which will have the potential to identify companies that track online activities of users.
Reporter Stephen Shankland at CNet chronicles the company’s intention to share that data with others at no cost.
“The data and its adoption reflect the growing importance of protecting privacy,” Shankland writes. “The online ad industry is one of the biggest privacy infringers, building profiles of people so that it can target ads more effectively. Apple has long pushed for better privacy. Now even the biggest online ad companies, Google and Facebook, say it’s a priority, too.”
A service involving assistance with the data set would come with a fee, which may help DuckDuckGo to recoup some of its research costs.
Third parties using tracking radar will have to implement workarounds to prevent problems with video and other obstacles for users.
However, having this freely available data turns the tables in the consumer’s favor in a particular way – many of those operators we talked about as anonymous shadowy figures will now be clearly identified.
“Powered by a list maintained by search engine DuckDuckGo, the Vivaldi browser is capable of blocking trackers without installation of an extension that integrates the functionality,” writes Martin Brinkmann at Ghacks, talking about Vivaldi’s use of the list.
With the implementation of Europe’s GDPR and other major privacy initiatives across the globe, the tech world is coming to the understanding that individual users have rights when it comes to their personal data.
Let’s see how Tracking Radar impacts this internal struggle between privacy and profit.
