DuckDuckGo Email Protection - a damp squib?

[WildEnte]

@guigirl a duck weighs as much as a witch of course.

Everybody knows that!

[fjc1029]

I was talking about this with a tech blogger and we agree this is DDG's email protection racket, and couldn't get to first base on a reality check. I found it one of the most suspicious things I've ever seen from a primary eth tech company so far. Just imagine the amount of data they'll get their hands on from that.

The Terms have a "not fit for purpose" clause, Microsoft-style class action waiver / "you can't sue us" disclaimer, etc.

You have to actually write to them to close your account.

And no one needs this service. Just prohibit images for your email service domain, at browser level, as a permanent exception in the settings. If trackers can't load their pixels, how are they gonna track you from an email?

I think this is cynically exploiting privacy fears as a means to mine data, and I flat out don't believe any of their privacy assurances. Why, other than data mining, would they set up a free thing like this, that doesn't make them any money? Honestly, it's just Microsoft trying to get through another back door. The Terms are theirs - not DDG's.

[Streptococcus]

@guigirl
Why is there a waiting list? Is that so popular that they cannot keep up with all the applications? (Or maybe they just pretend that it is so.)

[TbGbe]

@guigirl said in DuckDuckGo Email Protection - a damp squib?:

DNA sample, & agree to the barcode behind our left ear

Err, what about the non-disclosure agreement?

[jamesbeardmore]

@fjc1029 I had similar thoughts! Also - I really just don't see what the point of this service is.

If it's to strip trackers from your messages, then your browser's adblocker already does this. If you use a mail client, then the default "don't show remote content" setting already does this. And if you're extra-cautious, your Pi-Hole or hosts file already does this.

If it's to protect your "real" e-mail address to reduce spam, so services don't know your real address, then 10minutemail et al already do this for "one-off" sign-ups, and your mail service's "alias" settings (e.g. yourname+insertrandomtexthere@yourdomain) already does this for repeat messages and mailing-lists.

I also resent any service that mandates the use and installation of apps to use it, and generally avoid such services. Provide a web page for a web browser! Even when I bothered with Android devices, I didn't want to bog it down with app after app I would only occasionally use, or use once. There doesn't have to be an app for everything.