To use Apple Maps as its default, DuckDuckGo is utilizing the MapKit JS library, announced last year at the WWDC. MapKit JS is a JavaScript library that can be used by anyone to put Apple Maps on the web. As of now, it is available in beta, so only registered Apple developers can use it to integrate maps on the web. Until now, DuckDuckGo used OpenStreetMap for results, with a drop-down box that used other map services like Bing, Google, Here maps, etc., to showcase the results for users’ queries. It seems natural for a company like DuckDuckGo to partner with Apple, considering how much Apple cares about user privacy. Unlike companies like Google or Bing, which collect user data for profiling, Apple refrains from doing so and instead focuses on increasing user privacy on the internet. DuckDuckGo, on the other hand, has been doing a similar thing for a long time, providing search results to users’ queries without collecting any information on them. It is this pro-privacy behavior of both companies that puts them on the same page and allows for better partnering than some of the other major players in the industry. Here’s a statement from the company on the integration of Apple Maps with its DuckDuckGo search engine- Read the full announcement here. Related Read: How to Use Apple Maps on Android and Windows
