DuckDuck Go starts blocking “Google Sign-in pop-up” windows

DuckDuckGo has announced another measure against user tracking. So now the “Google Login Popup Protection” starts – this blocks pop-ups that use Google login scripts on other websites. However, it is still possible to sign in to Google services or with Google Sign-in in general if you use the DuckDuckGo apps and extensions. Only pop-ups asking for the connection with the Google account and the necessary permanent follow-up of the user are blocked. According to DuckDuckGo, this was a major privacy risk. The company announced that all DuckDuckGo Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Microsoft Edge browser apps and extensions will now actively block Google login prompts displayed on websites. Once one of the extensions is active, Google login pop-ups will be automatically blocked.

Google offers this single sign-on option on websites to give users the ability to quickly sign in to new platforms with their Google Account. The downside of this practice is that websites and apps can be continuously tracked by Google. DuckDuckGo has made efforts to block as many third-party tracking scripts as possible to more effectively protect user privacy. However, DuckDuckGo has also made exceptions to these safeguards, which has earned the company a lot of criticism. A contract was entered into with Microsoft which stipulated numerous exceptions to blocking tracking. DuckDuckGo offers a privacy-friendly search engine, messaging service, mobile apps, and browser extensions. A standalone web browser is also in the works, currently in beta and only available for macOS so far.