Search engine DuckDuck Go today announced it is launching Email Protection, a new feature that will protect user email privacy without switching email services, into beta. The email forwarding service removes email trackers and protects the privacy of a user’s personal email address without asking them to change email services or apps.
DuckDuckGo announces Email Protection feature
DuckDuckGo’s Email Protection feature comes as an alternative to Apple’s Hide My Email, which is a part of iCloud+. Hide My Email allows users to generate a random email address each time a site requests one rather than having to use their real email. Subsequently, anything sent to that email will be forwarded to a user’s regular email address. This offers an additional layer of privacy from apps and services.
DuckDuckGo’s service removes hidden trackers from incoming emails sent to a user’s Duck Email Address, then forwards it to their regular inbox for safer reading. In comparison, Apple’s feature includes “hidden pixels” for tracking in the background, through proxy servers.
Choose your Duck Email Address (you@duck.com) and start giving it out. We remove hidden trackers from incoming emails sent to this address, then forward them to your regular inbox for safer reading. This means if you use an email service like Gmail or Yahoo, it’s no problem! Emails sent to your Personal Duck Address will arrive there as usual so you can read your email like normal, in any app or on the web, worry-free.
One of the key differences between Email Protection and Hide My Email is cross-platform compatibility. The Cupertino tech giant’s feature will only work within its ecosystem, so it will require an Apple device. In contrast to this, DuckDuckGo’s browser extension and apps are not restricted to iOS and can be used on other platforms like Android.
DuckDuckGo says it will never save a user’s email for this service. After the service receives an email, it immediately removes trackers from it and then forwards them to a user, never saving them on its systems. Email Protection has been launched into beta. To access the beta, users can join the private waitlist here.
