DuckDuckGo switches to Apple Maps for address searches to protect user privacy

Popular search engine alternative to Google, DuckDuckGo has joined hands with Apple Maps to cater to address-related searches on its mobile and desktop browser. As revealed by the search engine in a blog post, the agreement gives users of the search engine access to continually updated maps, enhanced satellite imagery and more, without exposing their data. “Our strict privacy policy of not collecting or sharing any personal information extends to this integration. We do not send any personally identifiable information such as IP address to Apple or other third parties. For local searches, where your approximate location information is sent by your browser to us, we discard it immediately after use,” the company stated. [caption id=“attachment_5907721” align=“alignnone” width=“1600”] DuckDuckGo for mobile and desktop are now powered by Apple’s MapKit JS framework. Image: DuckDuckGo[/caption] This new feature is powered by Apple’s MapKit JS framework, which was created to enable companies to add interactive maps to web pages. DuckDuckGo claims to be one of the first global companies to employ this offering that Apple launched at WWDC last summer. Currently, MapKit JS library is available only in beta, hence only registered Apple developers can use it to integrate maps on the web. Up until now, DuckDuckGo used OpenStreetMap for results, with a drop-down box that used other map services like Bing, Google, Here maps etc. to showcase the results for users’ queries. Apple and DuckDuckGo have both taken strong stances on protecting user privacy which is why this agreement does not essentially come across as unexpected.