NEW YORK: Microsoft rolled back its commitment to the nearly-dead “Do Not Track” (DNT) standard, saying that it would no longer automatically switch on the signal in its browsers.
“DNT will not be the default state in Windows Express Settings moving forward, but we will provide customers with clear information on how to turn this feature on in the browser settings should they wish to do so,” said Brendon Lynch, the firm’s chief privacy officer.
“Windows Express” is Microsoft’s label for the setup process after first turning on a new PC or after the installation of an upgrade.
Do Not Track signals whether a user wants online advertisers and websites to track his or her movements, and was modeled after the Do Not Call list that telemarketers are supposed to abide by. All five major browsers—Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer (IE), Opera and Safari—can send a DNT request.
“This change will apply when customers set up a new PC for the first time, as well as when they upgrade from a previous version of Windows or Internet Explorer,” added Lynch.
His comments implied that when users of Windows 7, 8 and 8.1 upgrade to Windows 10 later this year, the DNT setting in IE11 and Project Spartan—the new browser that will be named the default—will be left as off.
Lynch cited new emphasis in the DNT standard for the change.
The standard’s latest draft states, “The basic principle is that a tracking preference expression is only transmitted when it reflects a deliberate choice by the user. In the absence of user choice, there is no tracking preference expressed (emphasis added).”
“We are updating our approach to DNT to eliminate any misunderstanding about whether our chosen implementation will comply with the W3C [World Wide Web Consortium] standard,” said Lynch.
