HTTP DNT (Do-Not-Track) Demystified
Do Not Track Logo There has been a lots of buzz around the new DNT (Do-Not-Track) privacy preference. The Do Not Track (DNT) header is the proposed HTTP header field DNT that requests that a web application should disable its tracking of an individual use. This feature is currently being standardized by W3C , and will function similar to Do Not Call registry. Today, there is no clear definition what it means to be "tracked" (according to IETF draft: Tracking includes collection, retention, and use of all data related to the request and response), advertisers aren't legally bound to comply the Do Not Track requests, and it still remains up to application developers to implement. Lets assume you want to be the one app developers who foresees that DNT will be mandatory in next 12 months and would like to incorporate this in your app. How would you detect if user has enabled it? Depending on browser and your app nature, you have two options: Use HTTP headers Use ...