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http://www.macnn.com/articles/11/04/13/leaves.only.chrome.without.a.do.not.track.option/

Apple adds new privacy tool to Lion's Safari

updated 06:55 pm EDT, Wed April 13, 2011

 

Leaves only Chrome without a 'Do Not Track' option


The latest developer release of Lion, Apple's next major upgrade to Mac OS X due sometime this summer, has updated the Safari web browser with a "Do Not Track" feature to prevent marketers from monitoring users' online activities, The Wall Street Journal reports. Apple joins Mozilla and Microsoft in making "Do Not Track" technology available in their current or upcoming browsers; Google remains the only major browser maker that will not commit to implementing the capability in its Chrome browser.

Though the major online advertising networks haven't yet agreed to honor the system, legislation moving through Congress may force their hand. A privacy bill introduced Wednesday by Florida Republican Cliff Stearns and Utah Democrat Jim Matheson would encourage companies to be more candid with users about how they are being tracked, and would require online advertising firms like Google to create privacy policies that explicitly spell out the data collected about them, and how it is used and sold. The bill calls for enforcement through the Federal Trade Commission, and for the data-collection industry as a whole to develop a self-policing program that the FTC would approve.

The "Do Not Track" tools in browsers currently do not guarantee that users won't be monitored; they depends on the advertising firms voluntarily agreeing to honor the requests made by the technology. The bill introduced Wednesday doesn't mandate that online advertising firms honor the requests, but does call for a system where the industry would agree to do so. [via The Wall Street Journal]


by MacNN Staff

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Comments

  1. facebook_Clarence

    Via Facebook

    Joined: Apr 2011

    -21

    Copy machines

    Start your copy machines, Cupertino!

  1. ozoner

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Mar 2002

    +2

    comment title

    Lol! Love the down-votes. I'm an Apple fan-boy, but face it people, MS got to this one first. Good for them - nice to see they are getting back in the game a bit (at least with IE).

    A rising tide floats all boats - this will push Chrome, Safari, and FF to do even more.

  1. The Vicar

    Junior Member

    Joined: Jul 2009

    +5

    Chrome? Nah.

    Chrome won't get this feature, ever, because Google's only motivation for writing programs is advertising and data mining. (It's why they're pushing an alternative to H.264 which they own -- since they will be posting all the codecs, they can find ways to phone home and report on your video preferences.)

  1. ff11

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Apr 2004

    -1

    Privacy tool?

    How is this different from "Private Browsing" which Safari has had for ever?

  1. Grendelmon

    Forum Regular

    Joined: Dec 2007

    +3

    I thought

    ...that Firefox was the first to implement this?

  1. chippie

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: May 2009

    +1

    @ff11- Private Browsing Doesn't Leave Your

    browsing history in your browser so your partner, children or other nosey person can't see where you were surfing. cookies and data mining still occur.

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