Do-Not-Track Next Major Browser Feature

By Douglas Perry
published

It appears that browser developers have agreed on a feature that will protect users from being tracked for advertising purposes.

Microsoft announced such a feature for IE9 in December, Mozilla explained similar plans for Firefox and Google introduced a do-not-track extension for Chrome.

As Microsoft, Mozilla proposes an opt-in mechanism for users, which would allow them to choose to opt-out of tracking. The do-not-track information will then be sent by Firefox to a content server that also hosts "tracking" advertising. The ad server then responds with ads that are not personalized and based the tracking information relating to a particular user. Mozilla published a detailed FAQ how it imagines the feature to work and how it could solve common do-not-track problems.

Mozilla said that its idea is merely a proposal and not a complete solution. However, it might be enough for a discussion in the community and among browser developers: "We believe the HTTP header is a constructive approach and one of the many areas we’re exploring to put users in control of their web experience," Mozilla's Alex Fowler wrote.    

Douglas Perry
13 Comments Comment from the forums
  • zak_mckraken
    So I will still be getting ads, but they won't be pesonalized to my likings and habits? In that case, I think I'd rather be tracked and receive ads that talks to me instead of Vagisil promotions.
    Reply
  • dogman_1234
    This seems like a cookie diversion system, if I am correct? No more tracking where I go, and what ads they want to 'show' me.
    Reply
  • tburns1
    zak_mckrakenSo I will still be getting ads, but they won't be pesonalized to my likings and habits? In that case, I think I'd rather be tracked and receive ads that talks to me instead of Vagisil promotions.Aw, c'mon ...vagasil is quite tasty on ritz crackers.
    Reply
  • cruiseoveride
    And you're not using AdBlock, why?
    Reply
  • black_zion
    Anyone can already do this: NoScript and AdBlock addons for Firefox. And it's funny how GOOGLE is introducing this feature since GOOGLE, and the companies it owns like ad.doubleclick, is the main freeking one doing it! Just look at this page for example, even TomsHardware uses bestofmedia.com, scorecardresearch.com, googleadservices.com, and smartadserver.com. I use NoScript so all of these are blocked from transmission. Track this.
    Reply
  • iamtheking123
    Yeah I'm sure they'll be just as scared of this opt-out flag as telemarketers are of the Do Not Call list. Whats the punishment for ignoring the "Do not Track"? Oh yeah right, nothing!
    I use Peerblock and Adblock w/ Privacy Filtering . I never see any ads and I'm already not being tracked. Don't feel bad though TH about not making any money off me; I never click ads anyways.

    @black_zion. I gave up on noscript a long time ago. Almost always I'd have to click "Allow" 30 times just to get a site to work properly, and I'd often have no idea whether I was allowing a malicious script anyways. Paranoid protection != always more safety.
    Reply
  • Netherscourge
    But I WANT Cialis ADS on my HOMEPAGE!!!

    WTF!??!?!?!


    And NO, I will NOT call a doctor if my erection lasts more than 4 hours. I will EMBRACE IT!

    GOOGLE THAT!
    Reply
  • edilee
    As long as ads don't pop up in the middle of the page I am viewing forcing me to close them then they can show all the "directed at me" ads they want in the side panes. And I do have to say since I started using the internet years ago I have NEVER clicked one of those ads. I would really like to see an actual real figure of how many folks do click those ads and how much advertisers actually make via these ads...I think it would be alot less than anyone could ever imagine.
    Reply
  • iamtheking123
    edileeAs long as ads don't pop up in the middle of the page I am viewing forcing me to close them then they can show all the "directed at me" ads they want in the side panes. And I do have to say since I started using the internet years ago I have NEVER clicked one of those ads. I would really like to see an actual real figure of how many folks do click those ads and how much advertisers actually make via these ads...I think it would be alot less than anyone could ever imagine.I think it's something like 1-2% of viewers actually click them (off the top of my head, perhaps from a magazine article). Factoring out accidental clicks I'd say it's very close to 1%. But it's crowd sourced so 1% of a billion people leads to hefty revues.
    Reply
  • This has nothing to do with blocking advertisments or cookies. This has to do with adding a feature that will prevent websites from sending your ip address to an add-server(s) based on the page you have visisted. This happens without your consent or control in the background. One program used to prevent this is PeerBlocker.
    Reply