China has begun blocking the privacy-protecting search engine DuckDuckGo, which avoids storing user data or tracking online activity, according to the company and security researchers.<\/p>\n
DuckDuckGo, which gained popularity following revelations of US government surveillance online, has only a tiny share of the search engine market but recently became an option as the default for iPhones in the new iOS 8 mobile platform.<\/p>\n
The company prides itself as “the search engine that doesn’t track you,” according to its website.<\/p>\n
According to the GreatFire.org website, which tracks web services in China, DuckDuckGo has been blocked since September 3.<\/p>\n
DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg confirmed the news in a tweet Sunday, responding to a query saying that “we did get blocked as far as we know.”<\/p>\n
“It is unclear as to why China has blocked the search engine but it might be due to them not complying with their filtering regulations,” said Barry Schwartz, a consultant who blogs on Search Engine Land.<\/p>\n
China has long blocked certain US online services such as Google and Facebook.<\/p>\n
In July, Microsoft announced it was being investigated by Chinese authorities in an anti-monopoly probe.<\/p>\n
China’s rigorous control over the Internet includes the blocking of foreign websites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube using a system known as the “Great Firewall.”<\/p>\n
DuckDuckGo, created in 2007, does not store IP addresses or create profiles of users.<\/p>\n
The storage of online data has become a concern following revelations of a massive surveillance program run by the US National Security Agency, with access to data from Google, Yahoo and other Internet firms.<\/p>\n
Sharp, Qualcomm to produce next-gen displays<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n