It’s expected that when filling in a form with your email address for signing up to a newsletter, a product, or getting the results of a quiz, you are going to get an email from that vendor, and possibly from a bunch of other vendors and advertisers too. And most likely, forever.
This is where the DuckDuckGo’s @duck.com email protection comes in handy.
DuckDuckGo is a browser that’s recognized for its security and privacy safeguards. A few months ago, the company came up with a new feature to help its users keep their info to themselves: DuckDuckGo Email Protection. It provides you with an exclusive email address (@duck.com) that you can use as an intermediary for websites that you suspect will probably collect data on you.
It works this way: you use your @duck.com address for any suspicious site (or just commercial). Emails sent to that address will be filtered for hidden trackers and then forwarded to your “normal” email address.
The feature is presently in beta, but you can sign up if you want to give it a try. I have been using it for a few months, and it works well. When you receive an email using the @duck.com address, you will see a banner showing how many trackers were removed at the top of the email.
How to be part of the beta?
Sign up from the DuckDuckGo mobile app. Link to apps for Apple’s App Store and Google Play here.
Post the installation of the app, go to “Settings” > “Email Protection.” Here, you can click to join the beta waitlist or enter the invite code if you have one.
DuckDuckGo invites people weekly, and you may get the invite in the form of a link. Once you accept the link, it will take you through a sequence of screens, which explains that DuckDuckGo does not store your emails or use your information for advertising, and your data is encrypted, among other things.
After you’ve read the usual terms, you get to choose your unique @duck.com email address and include an address where your email needs to be forwarded. (example:- abc@duck.com → xyz@gmail.com). Sample screenshot below:
Post the signup; any email sent to that @duck.com will go through DuckDuckGo’s servers and then be delivered to your regular (forward address — xyz@gmail.com) email address, stripping the attached trackers on them. As part of the ongoing beta, they also added the option of responding to the emails using the @duck.com address.
Final Words
Give @duck.com’s email protection a try, if you can get in on beta. As we know, trackers are a pain in the neck; sign up for one service, and suddenly, you start getting emails from a dozen or more. Having email protection with an alternate email address to prevent some nuisance like spam, not to mention avoiding other data about you from possibly getting distributed — can’t be a bad thing.
About the Author:
Vinoth is a cybersecurity professional by heart with over two decades of experience in Information Technology and Cybersecurity. He is an Australian Computer Society (ACS) Senior Certified Professional in Cybersecurity and holds various industry-leading cybersecurity credentials. Vinoth loves to write about the latest cybersecurity happenings and blockchain-related articles.
