Are You Being Tracked Online? Not With DuckDuckGo

It's been a popular topic in my class this year about privacy and your digital footprint. I bet anyone with an IPhone has said something out loud and then look at their phone to an ad about that same specific topic, because i have many times. its creepy and somehow almost unavoidable. Whatever you search or click on online is tracked somehow whether its through Google, Cookies, or another software, someone knows about it. Maybe that can stop. If you've never heard of the search engine DuckDuckGo, i advise you look into it. DuckDuckGo is like Google or FireFox except it doesn't track what you search. Created by Gabriel Weinberg in a basement, it's designed to allow a better and safer way to use the internet. DuckDuckGo has finally established a way to use the internet without creepily being watched. On May 1st, 2019, DuckDuckGo announced their federal legislation act "Do Not Track", in effort to add a tab on all web browsers that will not track your internet searches (Hetrick, 2019).

So many people nowadays don't even pay attention to the "Do Not Track?" notifications and let the foreign softwares track everything they do. Most of these programs collect your personal information and you're targeted and marketed. From a business perspective, I can kind of understand why they do it because it's not aimed to harm anyone, but to help their virtual awareness. For my job, I use a good amount of social media, Facebook and Google specifically. I just recently learned about Facebook Pixels which targets the audience you want to reach with your ads and tracks who interacts with it within Facebook. I understand why businesses and corporations use these applications, how it doesn't harm people, and how it benefits them.

I think DuckDuckGo is awesome and I think it will be very beneficial in keeping personal information confidential. If you are online shopping and fill in personal addresses and emails, I would advise you use DuckDuckGo. If you use Dropbox or other applications that normally go through Google, I'd use DuckDuckGo for safety reasons. You never know what they're watching and saving. But if you're just browsing news websites or scrolling through Facebook, I don't think it matters what web browser you use. Advertisements online will always be around, even DuckDuckGo has them. They just don't target specific people and take personal information to you. Whatever advertisement you see, many others are as well, because they have taken many donations (Hetrick, 2019). I recently just changed my default browser to DuckDuckGo to ensure I don't forget to use it when I should.





Hetrick, C. (2019, May 02). No means no, says DuckDuckGo as it pushes to make 'Do not track' the law of the land. Retrieved from https://www.philly.com/business/duckduckgo-online-privacy-legislation-do-not-track-browser-setting-20190501.html