The top stories in the world of technology
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6 8 – 21 June 2022 • Issue 633
WHAT WE THINK
but not this...
Russian hackers ‘leaked sensitive Brexit
emails’ (www.snipca.com/42097)You’ll like this...
Virtual network Smarty is offering 100GB of
data for just £12 (https://smarty.co.uk)Old Kindles lose ability to buy ebooks
F
rom August you’ll no
longer be able to browse,
buy or borrow new ebooks
directly on certain Kindles
made before 2012.
Amazon has emailed
customers saying that Kindle
(2nd Gen) International,
Kindle DX International,Kindle Keyboard (pictured),
Kindle (4th Gen), and Kindle
(5th Gen) will lose access to
the Kindle Store.
However, you’ll still be able
to buy ebooks from Amazon
when browsing on another
device and transfer them to
your Kindle. You’ll also be ableto continue reading titles
you’ve already added.
In its email, spotted by
website Good E-Reader,
Amazon offers US customers
30 per cent off a new Kindle,
and $40 to spend on ebooks.
It’s not clear whether the offer
is available to UK customers.DuckDuckGo admits it lets
Microsoft track you
then tweeted about it,
saying that “while
DuckDuckGo blocks
Google and Facebook
trackers, it allowed
Microsoft trackers to
continue running”.
DuckDuckGo
responded by
acknowledging that the
browser doesn’t block
tracking on some sites
owned by Microsoft, such
as recruitment site
LinkedIn and search
engine Bing, because of a
“search syndication
agreement” with the company.
This refers to Microsoft’s
Bing providing much of the
search results given by
DuckDuckGo’s search engine
(https://duckduckgo.com).
DuckDuckGo has also
changed the description of the
browser on the Google and
Apple app stores, which now
states “we are prevented from
blocking due to contractual
restrictions with Microsoft”.
Replying to Edwards’ tweets
(www.snipca.com/42100),
Gabriel Weinberg, boss andprotection because it’s not
possible for a number of
reasons”.
The company is more
famous for its search engine,
which doesn’t share details
of your searches or collect
personal data that can be used
to show you adverts tailored to
your interests (see Issue 632’s
‘Stop Using Google Search’
Cover Feature).
But it plans to launch a
browser for Windows
computers later this year, to
complement those already
available for Android, iOS
and Apple Macs.P
rivacy-focused search
engine DuckDuckGo
has admitted that it
does allow Microsoft to track
you online when you use its
browser on Android and iOS
devices, and Apple Macs.
Security researcher Zach
Edwards made the discoveryfounder of DuckDuckGo,
pointed out that the contract
with Microsoft has “nothing
to do with search”, and that
you’re completely anonymous
when you use the company’s
search engine.
A spokesperson later added
that anyone using its browser
on Android or iOS is “still
getting significantly more
privacy protection by default
with DuckDuckGo than they
would using Safari, Firefox,
Chrome and other browsers”.
They also said that
DuckDuckGo has “never
promised 100 per centThis is embarrassing for
DuckDuckGo, but no worse
than that. If anything, it’s a
reminder of the huge battle
it faces in taking on the tech
goliaths. In return for offering
DuckDuckGo its search
results, Microsoft wants
special permission to track
you. Despite this, Weinberg
is right when he says
DuckDuckGo offers “above-
and-beyond protection
that most browsers don’t
even attempt to do”. His big
challenge is to make sure
this news doesn’t put people
off using the forthcoming
Windows version of the
browser.