Do Not Track#Global Privacy Controls

In 2007, several consumer advocacy groups asked the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create a Do Not Track list for online advertising. The proposal would have required that online advertisers submit their information to the FTC, which would compile a machine-readable list of the domain names used by those companies to place cookies or otherwise track consumers.{{cite web|url=https://www.cdt.org/privacy/20071031consumerprotectionsbehavioral.pdf|title=The History of the Do Not Track Header|work=Center for Democracy and Technology|date=October 31, 2007|access-date=February 22, 2012}}

In July 2009, researchers Christopher Soghoian and Sid Stamm implemented support for the Do Not Track header in the Firefox web browser via a prototype add-on. Stamm was, at the time, a privacy engineer at Mozilla, while Soghoian soon afterward started working at the FTC.{{cite news | url=https://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2009/08/soghoian-joins-ftc/ | title=Outspoken Privacy Advocate Joins FTC | work=Wired News | first=Kim| last=Zetter| date=August 17, 2009 | access-date=November 20, 2009}} One year later, during a U.S. Senate privacy hearing, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz told the Senate Commerce Committee that the commission was exploring the idea of proposing a "do-not-track" list.{{cite news |last=Corbin |first=Kenneth |date=July 28, 2010 |title=FTC Mulls Browser-Based Block for Online Ads |url=http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3895496/FTC+Mulls+BrowserBased+Block+for+Online+Ads.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802143052/http://www.internetnews.com/ec-news/article.php/3895496/FTC+Mulls+BrowserBased+Block+for+Online+Ads.htm |url-status=live |archive-date=2010-08-02 |access-date=November 20, 2009 |work=Internet News}}

In December 2010, the FTC issued a privacy report that called for a "do-not-track" system that would enable people to avoid having their actions being monitored online.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704594804575648670826747094|title=FTC Backs Do-Not-Track System for Web|last=Angwin|first=Julia|work= Wall Street Journal|date=December 2, 2010|access-date=February 22, 2012}}

One week later, Microsoft announced that its next browser would include support for Tracking Protection Lists that block tracking of consumers using blacklists supplied by third parties.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703296604576005542201534546|title=Microsoft to Add 'Tracking Protection' to Web Browser|last=Angwin|first=Julia|work= Wall Street Journal|date=December 7, 2010|access-date=February 22, 2012}} In January 2011, Mozilla announced that its Firefox browser would soon provide a Do Not Track solution, via a browser header.{{cite news |author=Julia Angwin |author-link=Julia Angwin |date=January 21, 2011 |title=Web Tool On Firefox To Deter Tracking |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704213404576100441609997236 |access-date=February 22, 2012 |work=Wall Street Journal}} Microsoft's Internet Explorer 9,{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703363904576200981919667762|title=Microsoft Adds Do-Not-Track Tool to Browser|last=Angwin|first=Julia|work= Wall Street Journal|date=March 15, 2011|access-date=February 22, 2012}} Apple's Safari,{{Cite journal|author=Nick Wingfield|date=April 14, 2011|title=Apple Adds Do-Not-Track Tool to New Browser|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703551304576261272308358858|journal=Wall Street Journal|access-date=April 14, 2011}} Opera{{Cite web|author=Opera Desktop Team |date=February 11, 2012|title=Core update with Do Not Track, and mail and theme fixes |url=http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/2012/02/10/core-dnt-mail-themes |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130310122003/http://my.opera.com/desktopteam/blog/2012/02/10/core-dnt-mail-themes |archive-date=March 10, 2013 |url-status=dead |access-date=February 10, 2012|work=Opera blog}} and Google Chrome{{Cite web| title=Longer battery life and easier website permissions |url= https://chrome.googleblog.com/2012/11/longer-battery-life-and-easier-website.html |work=Chrome blog |access-date=November 7, 2012 |date=November 6, 2012}} all later added support for the header approach.

In August 2015, a coalition of privacy groups led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation using W3C's Tracking Preference Expression (DNT) standard proposed that "Do not track" be the goal for advocates to demand of businesses.{{cite web |url= http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/privacy-groups-offer-do-not-track-compromise-will-online-advertisers-and-publishers-accept-it-080615.html |title=Privacy groups offer "Do Not Track" compromise; will online advertisers and publishers accept it? |first=Jennifer |last=Abel |work=ConsumerAffairs |date=August 6, 2015 |access-date=August 10, 2015}}

In January 2019, the W3C Tracking Protection Working Group was disbanded, citing "insufficient deployment of these extensions" and lack of "indications of planned support among user agents, third parties, and the ecosystem at large".{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/w3c/dnt/commit/5d85d6c3d116b5eb29fddc69352a77d87dfd2310|title=WG closed · w3c/dnt@5d85d6c|website=GitHub|language=en|access-date=February 7, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/apple-is-removing-do-not-track-from-safari-1832400768|title=Apple Is Removing 'Do Not Track' From Safari|last=Hill|first=Kashmir|website=Gizmodo|date=February 6, 2019 |language=en-US|access-date=February 7, 2019}} Beginning the following month, Apple removed DNT support from Safari starting from version 12.1, citing that it could be used as a "fingerprinting variable" for tracking.{{Cite web|url=https://www.macworld.com/article/3338152/apple-safari-removing-do-not-track.html|title=Apple is removing the Do Not Track toggle from Safari, but for a good reason|date=February 7, 2019|website=Macworld|language=en|access-date=October 24, 2019}}

In December 2024, developer builds of Firefox lost support for the DNT header. Mozilla updated documentation about DNT to clarify that the browser no longer supports the header and recommended to use Global Privacy Control header instead. On February 4, 2025, Firefox 135.0 removed support for the DNT header for all users.{{Cite news |last=Vigliarolo |first=Brandon |date=December 12, 2024 |title=Mozilla removing Do Not Track option from Firefox 135 |url=https://www.theregister.com/2024/12/12/firefox_do_not_track/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241213105715/https://www.theregister.com/2024/12/12/firefox_do_not_track/ |archive-date=December 13, 2024 |access-date=December 14, 2024 |work=The Register |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Firefox 135.0, See All New Features, Updates and Fixes |url=https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/135.0/releasenotes/ |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=Mozilla |language=en}}

When using the "Express" settings upon installation, a Do Not Track option is enabled by default for Internet Explorer 10 and Windows 8.{{cite news |url= https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2412077,00.asp |title=Internet Explorer 10 Released for Windows 7 |access-date=December 22, 2012 |date=November 13, 2012 |work=PC Magazine}} Microsoft faced criticism for its decision to enable Do Not Track by default{{cite web|url=http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues/archive/2012/08/07/do-not-track-in-the-windows-8-set-up-experience.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120808130947/http://blogs.technet.com/b/microsoft_on_the_issues/archive/2012/08/07/do-not-track-in-the-windows-8-set-up-experience.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 8, 2012|title=Do Not Track in the Windows 8 Setup Experience|author=Brendon Lynch |date=August 7, 2012|work=Microsoft on the issues blog}} from advertising companies, who say that use of the Do Not Track header should be a choice made by the user and must not be automatically enabled. The companies also said that this decision would violate the Digital Advertising Alliance's agreement with the U.S. government to honor a Do Not Track system, because the coalition said it would only honor such a system if it were not enabled by default by web browsers.{{cite web |last=Whitney |first=Lance |date=June 1, 2012 |title=Microsoft ticks off advertisers with IE10 'Do Not Track' policy |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57445568-75/microsoft-ticks-off-advertisers-with-ie10-do-not-track-policy/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703080622/http://news.cnet.com/8301-10805_3-57445568-75/microsoft-ticks-off-advertisers-with-ie10-do-not-track-policy/ |archive-date=July 3, 2012 |access-date=September 8, 2012 |website=CNET}} A Microsoft spokesperson defended its decision however, stating that users would prefer a web browser that automatically respected their privacy.{{cite news|title=Microsoft's "Do Not Track" Move Angers Advertising Industry |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2012/05/31/microsofts-do-not-track-move-angers-advertising-industry/|work=Digits|publisher=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=September 8, 2012}}

On September 7, 2012, Roy Fielding, an author of the Do Not Track proposal, committed a patch to the source code of the Apache HTTP Server, which would make the server explicitly ignore any use of the Do Not Track header by users of Internet Explorer 10. Fielding wrote that Microsoft's decision "deliberately violates" the Do Not Track specification because it "does not protect anyone's privacy unless the recipients believe it was set by a real human being, with a real preference for privacy over personalization". The Do Not Track specification did not explicitly mandate that the use of Do Not Track actually be a choice until after the feature was implemented in Internet Explorer 10.{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2012/08/microsoft-sticks-to-its-guns-keeps-do-not-track-on-by-default-in-ie10/ |title=Microsoft sticks to its guns, keeps Do Not Track on by default in IE10 |website=Ars Technica |date=August 8, 2012 |access-date=May 14, 2013}} According to Fielding, Microsoft knew its Do Not Track signals would be ignored, and that its goal was to effectively give an illusion of privacy while still catering to their own interests.{{cite web |first=Stephen |last=Shankland |title=Apache Web software overrides IE10 do-not-track setting |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/apache-web-software-overrides-ie10-do-not-track-setting/ |website=CNET |date=September 7, 2012|access-date=April 13, 2024}} On October 9, 2012, Fielding's patch was commented out, restoring the previous behavior.{{cite web|title= Apache Won't Override Do-Not-Track Headers |url= http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/184855/apache-wont-override-do-not-track-headers.html |date=October 9, 2012 |publisher= MediaPost Communications |access-date=December 22, 2012}}{{Cite web|title=Keep this in, but commented out: also provide a little · apache/httpd@3dd6fb6|url=https://github.com/apache/httpd/commit/3dd6fb6882ae2b453c90d51e777e88bc420a0cb1|website = GitHub|access-date = July 4, 2017}}

On April 3, 2015, Microsoft announced that starting with Windows 10, it would comply with the specification and no longer automatically enable Do Not Track as part of the operating system's "Express" default settings, but that the company will "provide customers with clear information on how to turn this feature on in the browser settings should they wish to do so".{{cite web|title=Microsoft rolls back commitment to Do Not Track |url=http://www.computerworld.com/article/2905551/microsoft-rolls-back-commitment-to-do-not-track.html|website=Computerworld|date=April 3, 2015 |publisher=IDG |access-date=April 3, 2015}}

Very few advertising companies actually supported DNT, due to a lack of regulatory or voluntary requirements for its use{{cite web|title=Here's The Gaping Flaw in Microsoft's 'Do Not Track' System For IE10|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-the-gaping-flaw-in-microsofts-do-not-track-system-for-ie10-2012-8|website=Business Insider|access-date=September 8, 2012}} and unclear standards over how websites should respond to the header. Websites that honor DNT requests include Medium and Pinterest.{{cite web |last1=Bacchus |first1=Arif |title=Millions of People Use 'Do Not Track' Tool Which Does Nothing |url=https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/do-not-tracking-tools-do-nothing/ |website=Digital Trends |date=October 15, 2018 |publisher=Designtechnica Corporation |access-date=November 1, 2019}} Despite offering the option in its Chrome web browser, Google did not implement support for DNT on its websites, and directed users to its online privacy settings and opt-outs for interest-based advertising instead. The Digital Advertising Alliance, Council of Better Business Bureaus and the Data & Marketing Association does not require its members to honor DNT signals.{{cite web|title=Digital Advertising Alliance Gives Guidance to Marketers for Microsoft IE10 'DO NOT TRACK' Default Setting|url=http://www.aboutads.info/blog/digital-advertising-alliance-gives-guidance-marketers-microsoft-ie10-%E2%80%98do-not-track%E2%80%99-default-set|access-date=October 10, 2012}}

Usage of ad blocking software to block web trackers and advertising has become increasingly common, with users citing both privacy concerns and performance impact as justification for its use. Apple and Mozilla have begun to add privacy enhancements, such as "tracking protection", to their browsers, designed to reduce undue cross-site tracking. In addition, laws such as the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have imposed restrictions on how companies are to store and process personal information.{{Cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/do-not-track-the-privacy-tool-used-by-millions-of-peop-1828868324|title='Do Not Track' Privacy Tool Doesn't Do Anything|website=Gizmodo|date=October 15, 2018 |access-date=October 24, 2019}}

Princeton University associate professor of computer science Jonathan Mayer, who was a member of the W3C's working group for DNT, argued that the concept is a "failed experiment".

{{main|Global Privacy Control}}

In 2020, a coalition of US-based internet companies announced the Global Privacy Control header that intended to replace the DNT header. The creators hope that this new header will meet the definition of "user-enabled global privacy controls" defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In this case, the new header would be automatically strengthened by existing laws and companies would be required to honor it.

• IronVest
• P3P
• Evil bit
• {{Slink|List of HTTP header fields|Common non-standard request headers}}
• {{Slink|HTTP cookie|Privacy|Third-party cookie}}
• Better Business Bureau
• Data & Marketing Association

{{reflist|30em}}

Category:Hypertext Transfer Protocol headers

Category:Internet privacy