Privacy-focused search engine and browser provider DuckDuckGo has announced it will end Microsoft tracking on its platform.

The company announced that it will expand the list of third-party tracking scripts it blocks on its browsing apps and browser extensions to include Microsoft.

The new update will roll out over the next week.

DuckDuckGo browser blocks third-party tracker from loading on websites by default, affecting scripts from major companies like Facebook and Google.

However, a deal with Microsoft, which provides DuckDuckGo’s search capabilities, allowed some its trackers to run on DuckDuckGo’s browser.

The tracking controversy came to light in May when a security researcher uncovered the agreement.

The deal affected users when they go to third-party sites through DuckDuckGo’s browser. When users click on an ad link in the browser, Microsoft could track their IP address.

“Previously, we were limited in how we could apply our 3rd-Party Tracker Loading Protection on Microsoft tracking scripts due to a policy requirement related to our use of Bing as a source for our private search results,” said the company’s CEO and Founder Gabriel Weinberg.

“We’re glad this is no longer the case. We have not had, and do not have, any similar limitation with any other company.

While Microsoft can track IP addresses for ‘accounting purposes’, the activity is not connected to a broader user profile. It also only affects users of the company’s browser, not its search engine, and only occurs on third-party sites, not on DuckDuckGo itself.

Weinberg added that Microsoft’s scripts were never embedded in DuckDuckGo’s search engine or apps, and that none of the information was sent to it.

However, for a privacy-focused search engine, allowing Microsoft to use its tracking scripts on was not popular with fans of DuckDuckGo. Not only was it seen as a betrayal of the company’s values, but fans were also unhappy with a lack of transparency over the issue.

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With more people becoming concerned over how their data is used, DuckDuckGo has carved out a niche by protecting its users’ data. It does not scrape user data, doesn’t track location, and provides consistent search results for every user. Its adverts are contextual, rather than building profiles on its users.

In addition, its web browser uses HTTPS-always encryption and third-party cookie blocking to keep user activity private.

“Our vision at DuckDuckGo is to raise the standard of trust online,” Weinberg added.

“Raising that standard means maximising the privacy we offer by default, being transparent about how our privacy protections work, and doing our best to make the Internet less creepy.”

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