Your Android apps are tracking you. Here’s how to stop them

DuckDuckGo started out as a privacy-focused search engine. It obviously had (and still has) seriously stiff competition with Google. But the company behind the search engine wasn’t content with just offering that one service and soon began building a web browser. Said web browser was built, from the ground up, to be just as privacy-centric as the search engine. 

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The first platform to receive the DuckDuckGo browser was Android and although I don’t use it as my go-to mobile browser, there is one feature that I’ve grown to absolutely depend on. That feature is called App Tracking Protection and it blocks third-party trackers that lurk in the apps you’ve installed. That’s right, tracking doesn’t just occur within a web browser, but also happens within any of those apps you’ve installed. 

In today’s world of constant privacy invasions and security threats, you’ll want to block any type of tracking you can. Since installing DuckDuckGo and enabling App Tracking Protection, I get a fairly steady stream of tracker blocking when an app isn’t in use or even when an app hasn’t been opened for weeks or months. 

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Here’s an example: Within the past 5 hours, DuckDuckGo App Tracking Protection has blocked the following:

• 120 Tracking attempts from the Discogs app.
• 12 Tracking attempts from the Bitwarden app.

DuckDuckGo blocked every one of those attempts, without me having to do anything. With those tracking attempts blocked, the apps (and the companies behind them) cannot track my behavior either when I’m using the app or not using it. And given that companies often track you via apps they don’t even own, the need for such privacy protection is amplified. 

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You too can enjoy such privacy. There is one caveat, however. The App Tracking Protection has been in beta for some time. However, unlike when the feature first arrived, you no longer have to get an invite to the program, as it is available to all users.

Let’s install DuckDuckGo on Android and get the App Tracking Protection feature enabled.

How to add App Tracking Protection

What you’ll need: The only things you’ll need is an Android device and a valid Google account (so you can use the Google Play Store to install the software).

Once the installation is finished, you should find the DuckDuckGo app in your App Drawer. Tap the launcher to open the app.

At this point, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the added protection DuckDuckGo offers. You’ll get notifications every time an app tracker is blocked and you’ll be surprised at how often that happens.