Search engine DuckDuckGo has announced its own version of Apple’s Hide My Email.
The company confirmed its new Email Protection feature would allow users to hide their personal email addresses with new personalized DuckDuckGo email accounts, which would serve as a middleman. Like Apple’s Hide My Email service, which forms part of the new iCloud+ subscription package from the company, the idea is to save users time and fill in forms on their behalf with randomly generated email addresses for companies.
The ultimate goal is that users can sign up for services and not reveal their personal addresses to any company.
DuckDuckGo will also remove email trackers, something that Apple’s also planning to introduce as part of iOS 15 and macOS Monterey. DuckDuckGo will remove trackers entirely, whereas Apple sends “erroneous” data back to trackers – which one is better for consumers remains to be seen.
Perhaps one of the most interesting things about DuckDuckGo’s new service is that it’s cross-platform, whereas Apple’s Hide My Email will only work on iOS and macOS devices. DuckDuckGo’s service is available on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
Speaking of the launch, the company said: “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.”
Are you excited to hear this news? Let us know and check back soon for more privacy announcements, soon!
