DuckDuckGo has built a reputation as a privacy-oriented service provider with offerings such as a tracker-free search engine and web browser for desktop and mobile devices, among others. Last year, the company introduced a beta feature called Email Protection: it’s a forwarding service designed to remove followers from emails, thereby preserving users’ privacy. Unfortunately for aspiring testers, they had to sit on a waiting list before they could try it. That recently changed, with DuckDuckGo now allowing anyone to access the feature.
ANDROIDPOLICE VIDEO OF THE DAY
Email Protection is still in beta at the moment, but it looks like the company has gathered enough information to allow more people to access the feature. DuckDuckGo claims on its corporate blog (via Engadget) that it detected trackers in 85% of emails that passed through Email Protection during the waiting list period. With more users, there’s more data and more bugs to iron out, but the current beta stage also comes with its first test of capability.
In addition, the expansion of email protection now allows anyone to obtain an @duck.com email address, either to forward emails to their primary email addresses or as a standalone email account . In either scenario, DuckDuckGo will remove messages from all followers.
The company says users can create multiple private email addresses, even one for each nasty website they have to deal with if they so choose. If a user believes that their newly created @duck.com email is receiving spam, they can simply disable it using the self-service dashboard that allows them to add, delete or make other changes to their Duck account. Users can also reply to emails using the @duck.com address instead of their primary email address.
In addition to cleaning emails for followers placed inside scripts, images, or other forms of support, Email Protection beta can also detect and remove followers hidden under email links. In addition, DuckDuckGo announced the use of the HTTPS update for HTTP links within emails, a feature known as Smarter Encryption that is also available on the DuckDuckGo search engine.
You can now test Email Protection on your Android device by tapping the DuckDuckGo Privacy Browser Settings button and scrolling down to find Email Protection. Desktop users, on the other hand, must download the DuckDuckGo extension on Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Brave to access Email Protection. Alternatively, desktop users can visit the official DuckDuckGo page for more information related to compatibility.
DuckDuckGo was caught up in controversy this summer when it was reported that some of its products allowed Microsoft’s analytics and ad trackers to reach users. The company has since taken remedial measures to further limit the reach of the tracker.