Google's widespread tracking across the web

https://www.simpleanalytics.com/blog/google-is-tracking-you-even-when-you-use-duck-duck-go

by basquiyacht • 1 year ago

89 101 1 year ago

yegg• 1 year ago

This title is highly misleading, implying that Google tracks DuckDuckGo searches directly, which isn’t true. It also reinforces a conspiracy theory that we’re owned by Google, which also of course isn’t true. Kindly please change it to be more accurate about Google analytics and other Google trackers on websites you may visit.

We’ve been sounding the alarm about Google analytics, tag manager, and other Google trackers for years and why we started making our own extensions and browsers to block them and provide more comprehensive protection. On our homepage and everywhere else we can we try to get people to install those to get that additional protection, which you can compare here: https://duckduckgo.com/compare-privacy

unsupp0rted• 1 year ago

According to the link, using DuckDuckGo's browser basically eliminates the threat 100%, particularly if paired with a VPN?

FabHK• 1 year ago

I don't think the title implies that Google is tracking DuckDuckGo searches directly, just that using DuckDuckGo instead of Google often doesn't prevent Google from tracking you. The article also makes clear that using DuckDuckGo is an improvement, just not enough.

Furthermore, I don't see any intimation in the article that Google owns DuckDuckGo.

All in all, it seems you and the article are on the same page.

nottorp3• 1 year ago

The way i read it, it implies that DuckDuckGo should protect you from tracking on the sites it points to and it's not doing a good job.

They could have done a marketing blog post about the evils of Google Analytics without dragging DDG into this...

blackoil2• 1 year ago

Yeah. This is simple fear mongering to sell its own analytics product.

bentlegen• 1 year ago

Hopefully you won’t mind me using their own arguments to promote this OSS web analytics project instead:

https://counterscale.dev/

Unlike Simple Analytics (the post authors), you deploy Counterscale to your own Cloudflare account and control the code + data end-to-end. It also uses no cookies, has no browser fingerprinting, and has no monetized SaaS offering.

It only has 90 days retention though, which could be viewed positively.

figmert2• 1 year ago

It's simple fear mongering and aimed at the wrong audience. Companies want people tracked to improve their ads and have a higher reach. The people who are being tracked can't exactly do much about what tracking system a website uses.

basquiyacht• 1 year ago

Edit: I can see that it reads like that. Thats not the point. DDG are not the bad guys. Google is.

jacquesm• 1 year ago

Any chance of a Linux version of your browser?

jannes• 1 year ago

DDG is only one piece in the privacy puzzle. I think the article doesn't make it clear enough that other pieces are necessary.

RamblingCTO• 1 year ago

The threat is real though and I've recently noticed an uptick in the google SSO popup, which is just another way of tracking. Most notably on pornhub. I'm not too keen to let them know what I have a wank to.

randomtoast2• 1 year ago

Let's face reality: as soon as you browse the internet, you will be tracked and identified. Here are just a few data points used for fingerprinting:

IP address, User-Agent string, Referrer URL, Requested URL, Language, Locale, Screen resolution, Time zone, System time, Installed fonts, Installed plugins, Cookie data, Browser fingerprint, Canvas fingerprint, WebGL fingerprint, AudioContext fingerprint, Mouse movements, Click paths, Keyboard input timing, History sniffing, DNS queries, Destination IP addresses, HTTP traffic content, HTTPS metadata (host, SNI, timing), MAC address, Query parameters, Session ID, Login status, User account info, Geolocation (via IP), Geolocation (via browser API), Page interaction data, Time on page, Scroll behavior, Clicks, Form submissions, Browser type, OS type, Network provider, Client ID (\_ga cookie), Session ID, Timestamp, Pages visited, UTM parameters, Interaction events, Google Ad ID, DoubleClick cookie (IDE), Cross-site behavior, Cross-device behavior, Inferred demographics, Mouse tracking, Scroll depth, Video interactions, Audio interactions, Session replay, Keystroke logging, Facebook login status, Pixel events (Meta, LinkedIn, etc)

If you want to avoid that, you need to make a real effort (not just using DuckDuckGo). The Tails operating system might be a good place to start.

edoceo• 1 year ago

How is the MAC collected?

Arnt2• 1 year ago

The WLAN AP collects that. They really track you (they being the AP and Google).

You may assume that they collude, or not.

2716057• 1 year ago

Depending on your network configuration I could imagine abuse of EDNS(0). This is used for example by NextDNS to identify which device (MAC) on your local network sent the request in order to apply specific filters and log the request. A not-so-friendly DNS could sell such information.

blueflow2• 1 year ago

It isn't, parent is making stuff up. Browsers do not offer an interface that is exposing that information.

And remote servers are outside of your local network and thus cannot see these values, either.

poisonborz• 1 year ago

MAC is easily spoofed, most smartphones do it already by default - although only per session

fn-mote• 1 year ago

To me just posting this long list is spreading FUD.

It mixes voluntary user actions, like submitting forms and “query parameters”, with things like “WebGL fingerprint” which we agree is evil sneaky fingerprinting.

I agree tracking is a serious problem, but this list isn’t contributing to any discussion.

johnisgood4• 1 year ago

What I would like is effective solutions against most fingerprinting.

omeid2• 1 year ago

Query parameters are hardly voluntary, just about every linked acquired via "share" button on various platform includes tracking query parameters, including google search results. Combined with the fact that query parameters are has legitimate uses, the distinction complexity becomes indistinguishable from "legitimate WebGL usage" vs "WebGL fingerprint".

It is scary where we are, but you can't solve it by dismissing it as FUD.

blitzar• 1 year ago

People complain about google logging their search queries when they are in "incognito mode" and logged into their google account - we need a lot more education.

mvieira382• 1 year ago

This list manages to be mostly correct while still spreading FUD. These can all be tracked, but the threat actors are very much uncoordinated in exploiting this info, and much of it (especially things like keystroke and mouse fingerprinting) is expensive to track en masse.

Just using Firefox with uBlock, no history, and privacy settings on max, through a somewhat trustworthy VPN like Mullvad will make your data mostly useless. Yeah, "they" could still catch you in a million ways, but if your threat model revolves mostly around surveillance capitalism you'll just be too much of a hassle to matter

buyucu• 1 year ago

No they don't. My PiHole and uBlock Origin stops it.

nottorp3• 1 year ago

And as far as i know DDG is a search engine, not a privacy plugin. It only gives you links, it doesn't modify web pages and it's not its job to.

For stopping tracking, uBlock Origin.

tharkun__2• 1 year ago

DDG is a privacy plugin (on desktop). On mobile it's its own browser. The one I'm writing this from.

And yes I still use uBlock on top on desktop.

baal80spam• 1 year ago

Isn't DDG a Bing wrapper?

Arnt2• 1 year ago

It does lots of things itself, and gets lots of other things from Bing.

amelius8• 1 year ago

User tracking only exists because it generates money. We should ban the entire practice. No more targeted ads (with very little exceptions).

tonyhart73• 1 year ago

how you can ban the practice??? in what way ?

amelius8• 1 year ago

You ban it by making it illegal.

fsflover3• 1 year ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43595269

v5v34• 1 year ago

Then something else will replace it. To make the same amount of money.

card_zero• 1 year ago

Could we make that thing perhaps Being Very Nice?

prox• 1 year ago

You mean old timey wimey marketing pre-internet? Just target people instead of Bob at 17th Rosewood St.

How about this, I set a preference for some stuff I am interested in and that’s what they can show me.

bit19932• 1 year ago

User tracking only exists because it generates money.

3-letter-agencies.gif

ujkhsjkdhf234• 1 year ago

Ironically these agencies buy user information from third parties because it cost less and is legal.

jgalt2122• 1 year ago

Even in countries with strict laws like the GDPR, Google's trackers are still everywhere. That raises questions about how effective these regulations really are in practice.

This is basically it. GDPR is a stupid unenforceable law, and should be wiped from the books. Try again with something new.

cherryteastain• 1 year ago

It is enforcable but EU has been quite cautious and conservative with its enforcement approach.

China has a ton of laws aimed to suppress political dissent, and a good chunk of their laws/regulations would be even more unenforceable if they adopted an EU style approach. Of course, China means business, so they just go ahead and deploy the sledgehammer: you are banned from China unless you comply with the law. You typically can't even read the letter of the law and implement what it says verbatim; if you violate the spirit of the law (that is, don't disseminate anti-CCP content) you will still get the banhammer.

It's all about what political capital you're willing to give up to enforce the law.

simpss3• 1 year ago

It took a while, but is starting to work.

Many "cookie banners" have finally started to work in the EU. Once you deny PII processing many sites don't load GA etc... The time of malicious compliance is starting to pass. Some sites have figured it out and realized they really don't need personalized analytics and have replaced implementations with privacy respecting ones(ex, plausible). This lets them remove the dark-patternish banner and no additional consent is required as all data is pooled together and one persons actions truly can't be singled out.

GDPR obviously has other good effects but as PII processing through cookies is what most people know, I chose that as an example. Email tracking links & pixels are another good example.

There's also a big difference between 2018 and 2025 when discussing GDPR in work contexts and saying that implementing this or that tracking would be illegal.

It's a slow process, but it's working as intended.

jgalt2122• 1 year ago

Enforcing sites not calling out to third party data processors via client-side JavaScript is detectable and enforceable, but taking such actions server-side is undetectable (and therefore unenforceable).

tremon• 1 year ago

Once you deny PII processing many sites don't load GA etc

The way you phrase this is expressly non-compliant with the GDPR, because what you're describing is an opt-out. To be compliant, websites should only load GA etc after you accept PII processing.

ants_everywhere• 1 year ago

I clicked on this expecting an interesting read, but the big reveal was...

Google analytics??

reconnecting5• 1 year ago

In the case of this particular website, perhaps Google tracks you less, but you get tracked by `https://test-v1.adriaan.com` — whatever that means.

9: <script src="https://test-v1.adriaan.com/script-v1.js" async></script>

https://test-v1.adriaan.com/simple.gif?type=event&hostname=t... Gecko/20100101 Firefox/128.0&version=test-2025-04-22-v2&event=onload&path=/blog/google-is-tracking-you-even-when-you-use-duck-duck-go&referrer=&session_id=ab6ceafa-47c1-48e4-b26b-79148e625a15&metadata={"beacon_ok":true,"keepalive_ok":false,"ts_ms":1752496007219,"send_method":"image"}&t=1752496007219

So the correct title must be: "We track you when you're reading about Google tracking you (even when using DuckDuckGo)."

AdriaanvRossum• 1 year ago

Ha, nice find! I'm the Adriaan in adriaan.com. I'm testing some new script features that might improve deliverability. It's not sending any personal data. I use another domain to have the least effect of ad-blockers.

reconnecting5• 1 year ago

Nice to meet you, Adriaan.

This is slightly incorrect. By sending a request from your business website (SimpleAnalytics) to your personal domain (Adriaan), you actually transfer personal data. In this case, it’s the IP address, which according to GDPR is considered PII.

Taking into account the scope of privacy terms provided on your business website, it doesn’t include data sharing with your personal entity through your website. So this is basically illegal, unless adriaan[.]com belongs and operated by SimpleAnalytics company.

rustc• 1 year ago

Ha, nice find! I'm the Adriaan in adriaan.com. I'm testing some new script features that might improve deliverability. It's not sending any personal data. I use another domain to have the least effect of ad-blockers.

You are sending the user agent, path, referrer, a session id + the IP (which is automatically sent) to your personal server and also using a different domain to track users who have ad blockers installed. Even Google Analytics does not use random domain names to track adblock users (yet).

baggachipz• 1 year ago

This is an obvious, thinly-veiled advertisement for a company's services. It's widely known that ad companies track you everywhere by many mechanisms. This is why we use ad blockers of all sorts. This has nothing to do with DuckDuckGo, it's merely used as a vehicle to get clicks.

1vuio0pswjnm7• 1 year ago

"SimpleAnalytics" by "IronBrands" uses utm tracking in the URL to the study that they have so graciously provided to the reader.

Perhaps the name should be "IronyBrands"

v5v34• 1 year ago

A lot of browser's have tracking blocked and there will be a icon in the top bar which will show this.

And many vpns also offer an option to block trackers and ads before they get to you.

figmert2• 1 year ago

VPN providers can't meaningfully block trackers. If they say they do, they have to be intercepting SSL which requires extra work (must install their generated CA on all clients) and you are literally handing over all data to the VPN provider, more so than without of course, as they'd be able to decrypt HTTPS payloads.

v5v34• 1 year ago

Wouldn't they just be blocking the DNS queries?

So any client side requests to a known URL is just blocked. So only server side would work.

daft_pink• 1 year ago

I really wish we could change the search engine in apple products directly to Kagi instead of leaking searches through DuckDuckGo

Google's widespread tracking across the web

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