DuckDuckGo calls out Google search to ‘spy on’ users after privacy labels upload

Over the past few weeks, Google has added app privacy labels to its iOS apps in accordance with Apple’s App Store policies, but it took several months for Google to start sharing the information.

There was speculation that Google’s delay meant it had something to hide, which DuckDuckGo is addressing with a new tweet that highlights Google’s data collection and calls the company for “spying” on users.

Google recently added app privacy labels to its Google search app, detailing the extent of the information collected. For third party advertising purposes, Google collects data that includes location, search history, and browsing history. Google Marketing Data includes all of the above information, as well as contact information and device IDs, and there is even more data collected for analytics, app functionality, and product personalization.

DuckDuckGo claims that Google “wanted to hide” the information it collects, which is why Google took so long to roll out support for app privacy labels. Most people probably aren’t surprised at the extent of the data Google collects, but having it all in one place in the “App Store” is a stark reminder.

Many of Google’s major apps didn’t start getting privacy labels until late February, even though Apple’s rule went into effect in December. Google delayed adding the labels for so long that its apps went more than two months without updating. Even now, it’s been three months since the Google Maps app was updated, although most other apps have now received app privacy labels and updates.

DuckDuckGo is a privacy-focused search and browser option that is available on iOS devices and can be set as the default search engine option. As DuckDuckGo points out in its tweet, the DuckDuckGo app does not collect data related to you.