Privacy focussed search engine DuckDuckGo is launching Email Protection into beta, which will help users protect their emails without having to switch email services.
The email beta is live now and means you can also get a free, personal @duck.com email address. All emails sent to it will forward into your regular inbox but will be free of email trackers.
Email trackers are not uncommon, 70% of emails contain trackers, according to Freedom to Tinker, with most of these trackers being able to detect when you opened an email, where, and what device you used to open it.
DuckDuckGo’s beta Email Protection claims to remove all email trackers and protect the privacy of your personal email address without asking you to change your services or apps.
It says that you can keep your Gmail or Yahoo email service, as it will forward all your emails into your regular inbox for you, for free.
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Plus, the DuckDuckGo app and extension also give you easy access to your personal Duck address and will give you the option to generate a new private Duck address on demand.
DuckDuckGo says the main benefit of losing all the pesky email trackers is it makes it harder for companies to target you for ads, and gives you an extra layer of protection, in case of a data breach that may leak your email.
And as another privacy bonus, DuckDuckGo says it will never save your emails in its systems, not even saving the headers.
To join the private beta waitlist, you’ll have to download the DuckDuckGo app, available both in the iOS App Store and Android Google Play Store. You’ll just have to open settings, go into Beta Features then into Email Protection, where you click to join the private waitlist.
If you want to make sure you’re browsing the web safely, check out our list of the best VPN options in 2021 using the link prior. If you’re confused about certain things like what encryption is then also check out our handy explainer in the attached link.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
