DuckDuckGo -- a search engine that vows to protect its users’ privacy -- allows Microsoft trackers on third-party sites because of an agreement between the two companies, according to Bleeping Computer.
The result is that while “DuckDuckGo does not store any personal identifiers with your search queries, Microsoft advertising may track your IP address and other information,” Bleeping Computer writes.
This typically happens when a user clicks on an ad link for accounting purposes, but it is "not associated with a user advertising profile,” Bleeping Computer continues.
However, while the DuckDuckGo browser blocks Google and Facebook, it does not block Microsoft.
DuckDuckGO CEO Gabriel Weinberg tweeted: “When you load your search results, you are completely anonymous, including ad. For ads, we worked with Microsoft to make ad clicks protected. From our public ads page, Microsoft's Advertising does not associate your ad-click behavior with a user profile.”