Do not track header
Encyclopedia
The do not track header is a proposed HTTP header field that would request a web application
to disable their tracking of a user. The "Do Not Track" standard was created by researchers at Stanford University and is under discussion in the United States Congress
and the Federal Trade Commission
. On March 7, 2011, a draft proposal was submitted to IETF.
The first major web service to implement the feature is The Associated Press. According to the company, "it only took a few hours for one engineer to implement."
The header accepts two values, 1 in case the user does not wish to be tracked (opt out) or 0 in case the user does (opt in). As of June 2011 it is supported by Firefox 4 and higher, Internet Explorer 9
and Safari
(as of Safari 5.1, it's hidden in the Develop menu).
It is not supported by Google Chrome.
requests content or sends data using HTTP it can optionally include extra information called a "header". Do not track adds a header (DNT: 1) indicating that the user does not wish to be tracked. Currently, websites are not required to comply with do not track requests and therefore very few websites are implementing users' do not track requests. Congress hopes to pass new federal legislation requiring compliance with the do not track system.
Web application
A web application is an application that is accessed over a network such as the Internet or an intranet. The term may also mean a computer software application that is coded in a browser-supported language and reliant on a common web browser to render the application executable.Web applications are...
to disable their tracking of a user. The "Do Not Track" standard was created by researchers at Stanford University and is under discussion in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
and the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
. On March 7, 2011, a draft proposal was submitted to IETF.
The first major web service to implement the feature is The Associated Press. According to the company, "it only took a few hours for one engineer to implement."
The header accepts two values, 1 in case the user does not wish to be tracked (opt out) or 0 in case the user does (opt in). As of June 2011 it is supported by Firefox 4 and higher, Internet Explorer 9
Internet Explorer 9
Windows Internet Explorer 9 is the current version of the Internet Explorer web browser from Microsoft. It was released to the public on March 14, 2011 at 21:00 PDT. Internet Explorer 9 supports several CSS 3 properties, embedded ICC v2 or v4 color profiles support via Windows Color System, and...
and Safari
Safari (web browser)
Safari is a web browser developed by Apple Inc. and included with the Mac OS X and iOS operating systems. First released as a public beta on January 7, 2003 on the company's Mac OS X operating system, it became Apple's default browser beginning with Mac OS X v10.3 "Panther". Safari is also the...
(as of Safari 5.1, it's hidden in the Develop menu).
It is not supported by Google Chrome.
How it works
When a web browserWeb browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
requests content or sends data using HTTP it can optionally include extra information called a "header". Do not track adds a header (DNT: 1) indicating that the user does not wish to be tracked. Currently, websites are not required to comply with do not track requests and therefore very few websites are implementing users' do not track requests. Congress hopes to pass new federal legislation requiring compliance with the do not track system.
See also
- List of HTTP header fields
- List of HTTP header fields#Common non-standard request headers
External links
- http://donottrack.us/
- http://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-mayer-do-not-track/?include_text=1