Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud
    • Cybersecurity
    • Development

    Google Chrome to Support ‘Do Not Track’ Privacy Policy

    By
    Clint Boulton
    -
    February 25, 2012
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Feb. 23 said it is embracing the “Do Not Track” policy to streamline consumer privacy on the Web, and plans to support the initiative in its popular Chrome Web browser by the end of the year.

      Formulated by the White House, Federal Trade Commission and the Digital Advertising Alliance, Do Not Track will allow Internet users to add a Do Not Track header from browsers such as Chrome, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Safari, Mozilla Firefox and Microsoft Internet Explorer. This will tell Websites not to track them across the Web.

      Mozilla was the first to step up and embrace Do Not Track when it was unveiled last year, with Microsoft following with Internet Explorer 9 shortly thereafter. Safari has supported Do Not Track since launching version 5.1 last July.

      Google, the online ad market leader that stands to lose the money from not being able to track users and target them with online ads, relented this week.

      While Google hasn’t specified its implementation of Do Not Track, it is believed the company will add a checkbox to trigger the tool in its Chrome user settings.

      Google’s adoption of Do Not Track doesn’t preclude cookies, small computer files online ad providers use to track users’ travels around the Web, from existing in Chrome.

      What it means is that cookies will not be used to build targeted ads, or those tailored to users based on users’ past surfing and other online behavior. Do Not Track supporters may not use that cookie-tracking data to divine information about users’ employment, credit, health treatment or insurance eligibility, or for sensitive data about children.

      However, the more “personal” users want their experience with Chrome or other browsers to be, the more info can be tracked about those users, according to Susan Wojcicki, senior vice president of advertising for Google.

      “For example, if users have requested personalization (such as by signing up for particular services) or visit Websites that use “first-party” cookies to personalize the overall experience (for example, a news Website recommending articles to its readers, or a video site remembering your volume preferences), then browsers will not break that experience,” Wojcicki wrote in a blog post.

      In other words, users will still be tracked and will see ads targeted to their behavioral tastes online. Wojcicki was careful to note that Google believes tailoring users’ Web experience with more relevant, interest-based ads is a “good thing.”

      Wojcicki also said Google looked forward to Do Not Track’s implementation as a way to combat inconsistency in Web browsers’ privacy controls. For example, Safari prevents the use of cookies, something Google recently caught flak for by circumventing this privacy policy to track the Web activities of users of iOS devices and Macs.

      “This agreement will not solve all the privacy issues users face on the Web today,” Wojcicki added. “However, it represents a meaningful step forward in privacy controls for users. We look forward to making this happen.

      So does the Federal Trade Commission, which is tasked with enforcing Do Not Track and punishing transgressors.

      “It’s great to see that companies are stepping up to our challenge to protect privacy so consumers have greater choice and control over how they are tracked online,” said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. “More needs to be done, but the work they have done so far is very encouraging.”

      Clint Boulton

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×