Secure search engine DuckDuckGo chooses Apple Maps for location results

DuckDuckGo is a privacy focused secure web search engine that does not track its users or where they are going in the web. The company just announced that it is using Apple Maps data.

"We're excited to announce that map and address-related searches on DuckDuckGo for mobile and desktop are now powered by Apple's MapKit JS framework, giving you a valuable combination of mapping and privacy. As one of the first global companies using Apple MapKit JS, we can now offer users improved address searches, additional visual features, enhanced satellite imagery, and continually updated maps already in use on billions of Apple devices worldwide," the company stated on their website. 

This vote of confidence in Apple Maps could lead to more companies adopting the MapKit JS in their apps and services to ensure security and privacy are protected. Privacy has become Apple's key focus. The company even went so far as to place a giant billboard in Las Vegas touting "What happens in your iPhone, stays in your iPhone," a dig at various competing products and services that either push user data to the cloud or sell user information for advertising and profit.

Unlike competing mapping services,  don’t have to sign in to use Apple Maps. When you use Maps, Apple does not know who you are. The data that Maps uses to handle your requests—like search terms, navigation routing, and traffic information is associated with random identifiers that reset every 15 minutes.