In the near future, it may soon come to pass that most major Web browsers come with a relatively new feature that allows consumers to avoid having their online habits tracked by advertising companies and other entities.
More companies are now building the popular Do Not Track feature into their Web browsers as a standard feature, allowing consumers to opt out of having companies keep tabs on how they use the Internet, according to a report from the New York Times. For instance, Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system will feature its new Internet Explorer browser that comes with Do Not Track built in. It joins other browsers, like Mozilla's Firefox, Apple's Safari and even an earlier build of IE, which already had the feature in place.
The difference between those browsers' options, and the latest version of IE, however, is how open Microsoft is being with consumers about the protections Do Not Track provides, the report said. For one thing, IE 10 comes with Do Not Track enabled by default, meaning consumers have to opt into it if they want to receive ads tailored to their personal habits. This move may be particularly surprising because Microsoft actually owns a targeted online ad business.
"No one says today, when a consumer first loads a product, 'Hey, by the way, there are some privacy choices you may want to consider,'" Alex Fowler, the global privacy and policy leader at Mozilla, told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, Google Chrome does not yet feature a Do Not Track option for its users, but will likely do so by the end of the year, according to a separate report from ComputerWorld. Chromium, an open-source browser development project that is often used to build new updates for Chrome itself, recently came out with a version that features a Do Not Track option, though it's unclear when the choice will be added to the more widely-used Chrome itself. However, some experts believe the latest full update - Chrome 22 - could come out sometime in November.
For more information on Microsoft's decision to include Do Not Track in IE 10, please visit Identity Theft 911's earlier blog post on the subject. Further, Eduard Goodman, the chief privacy officer for Identity Theft 911, has a blog about the privacy concerns consumers may face on a daily basis.
More companies are now building the popular Do Not Track feature into their Web browsers as a standard feature, allowing consumers to opt out of having companies keep tabs on how they use the Internet, according to a report from the New York Times. For instance, Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system will feature its new Internet Explorer browser that comes with Do Not Track built in. It joins other browsers, like Mozilla's Firefox, Apple's Safari and even an earlier build of IE, which already had the feature in place.
The difference between those browsers' options, and the latest version of IE, however, is how open Microsoft is being with consumers about the protections Do Not Track provides, the report said. For one thing, IE 10 comes with Do Not Track enabled by default, meaning consumers have to opt into it if they want to receive ads tailored to their personal habits. This move may be particularly surprising because Microsoft actually owns a targeted online ad business.
"No one says today, when a consumer first loads a product, 'Hey, by the way, there are some privacy choices you may want to consider,'" Alex Fowler, the global privacy and policy leader at Mozilla, told the newspaper.
Meanwhile, Google Chrome does not yet feature a Do Not Track option for its users, but will likely do so by the end of the year, according to a separate report from ComputerWorld. Chromium, an open-source browser development project that is often used to build new updates for Chrome itself, recently came out with a version that features a Do Not Track option, though it's unclear when the choice will be added to the more widely-used Chrome itself. However, some experts believe the latest full update - Chrome 22 - could come out sometime in November.
For more information on Microsoft's decision to include Do Not Track in IE 10, please visit Identity Theft 911's earlier blog post on the subject. Further, Eduard Goodman, the chief privacy officer for Identity Theft 911, has a blog about the privacy concerns consumers may face on a daily basis.
