Privacy-centric DuckDuckGo shuns Google and turns to Apple Maps for location-based searches

With the emphasis it places on privacy, it should come as little surprise that search engine DuckDuckGo is less than keen on Google. The latest demonstration of this is the company's decision to eschew Google Maps in favor of Apple's MapKit JS framework to power its map-related searches.

DuckDuckGo says that this brings users a "valuable combination of mapping and privacy", both on the desktop and on mobile.

See also:

• DuckDuckGo denies using fingerprinting to track its users
• Google relents and hands duck.com to privacy-centric rival DuckDuckGo
• Privacy-focused DuckDuckGo finds Google personalizes search results even for logged out and incognito users

The company says that it is working closely with Apple, and assures users that their privacy will be maintained. When conducting a map-related search -- such as looking up an address, searching for nearby attractions, looking for businesses and locations -- results can be seen either embedded in search results, or on the dedicated Maps tab.

Writing about the partnership with Apple, DuckDuckGo stresses its continued emphasis on privacy:

At DuckDuckGo, we believe getting the privacy you deserve online should be as simple as closing the blinds. Naturally, our strict privacy policy of not collecting or sharing any personal information extends to this integration. We do not send any personally identifiable information such as IP address to Apple or other third parties. For local searches, where your approximate location information is sent by your browser to us, we discard it immediately after use. You are still anonymous when you perform map and address-related searches on DuckDuckGo.