DuckDuckGo, the privacy search engine that does not track its users, has made a $25,000 contribution to the OSTIF, with the funds earmarked for the VeraCrypt project. These funds will be instrumental in supporting our goals of strengthening VeraCrypt and will directly assist the project in moving forward.
DuckDuckGo’s business model is significantly different from that of other search engines. Google, Yahoo, Bing, and others all monetize their search engines through the use of intrusive analytics that track user activity and sell it to the highest bidder. Tracking users in this way creates a permanent digital footprint that can be leveraged against them for purposes far more sinister than targeted advertising, raising concerns among privacy activists around the world.
DuckDuckGo’s charitable donations support the open-source community, and help strengthen the privacy community
. Every year they select multiple projects and give significant contributions that help these innovative ideas move forward.
Here is the official announcement from DuckDuckGo founder Gabriel Weinberg:
https://duck.co/blog/post/303/2016-foss-donations-announcement
A special thank you to Gabriel, Daniel, and the rest of the DuckDuckGo staff for supporting worldwide privacy and trust in the digital age.