Microsoft trackers run afoul of DuckDuckGo, get added to blocklist

Enlarge (credit: Aurich Lawson)

DuckDuckGo, the privacy-minded search company, says it will block trackers from Microsoft in its desktop web browser, following revelations in May that certain scripts from Bing and LinkedIn were getting a pass.

In a blog post, DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg says that he's heard users' concerns since security researcher Zach Edwards' thread that "we didn't meet their expectations around one of our browser's web tracking protections." Weinberg says that, over the next week, the company's browser will add Microsoft to the list of third-party tracking scripts blocked by its mobile and desktop browsers, as well as extensions for other browsers.

"Previously, we were limited in how we could apply our 3rd-Party Tracker Loading Protection on Microsoft tracking scripts due to a policy requirement related to our use of Bing as a source for our private search results," Weinberg writes. "We're glad this is no longer the case. We have not had, and do not have, any similar limitation with any other company."