DuckDuckGo calls Google search for ‘spying’ on users after publishing privacy labels

Over the past few weeks, Google has been adding app privacy labels to its iOS apps according to Apple’s App Store rules, but it took Google several months to start sharing the information.

It was speculated that Google’s delay meant it had something to hide, something that DuckDuckGo is trying to do 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, explaining the extent of the information it collects. For the purposes of third-party advertising, Google collects data that includes location, search history and browsing history. Google’s own marketing data includes all of the above information, along with contact information and device identifiers, as well as even more data collected for analysis, application functionality and product customization.

DuckDuckGo says Google “wanted to hide” the information it collects, which is why it took Google so long to launch support for app privacy labels. Most people are probably not surprised by the extent of the data that Google collects, but having it in one place on the ‌App Store‌ is a stark reminder.

Many of Google’s top apps didn’t start receiving privacy labels until the end of February, although Apple’s rule went into effect in December. It took Google so long to add the labels that its apps went more than two months without being updated. Even now, it’s been three months since the Google Maps app was updated, although most other apps have already received updates and privacy labels from the app.

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 your tweet, the DuckDuckGo app does not collect data linked to you.