Disconnect_(software)
Disconnect is a partly open source[1] browser extension and mobile app designed to stop non-consensual third party trackers,[2] and providing private web search and private web browsing.[3] On mobile, it is available for Android and iPhone. It was developed by Brian Kennish and Casey Oppenheim. Disconnect-Search had once been the default search engine of the security-focused Tor Browser, which now uses DuckDuckGo.[4][5]
The Electronic Frontier Foundation compared the app to its own Privacy Badger browser plugin.[2]
The app was banned from the Google Play Store five days after its release in late August 2014. Google cited a violation of its Terms of Service which prohibit developers from using its store "to distribute apps that interfere with or disrupt the services of any third party".[2][6] This, however, attracted criticism from parties such as EFF (and Disconnect itself) which saw this app as privacy-friendly, and argue that Google's motivations are primarily based on the fact that this app interferes with ad-based revenue models of numerous companies, including Google itself.[2][7][8][9] The app was restored to the Google Play Store two weeks after its initial banning,[10] before being banned for a second time overnight.[11]
In June 2015, Disconnect filed an antitrust complaint against Google.[12]
