The Do Not Track setting found in all major
browsers is beginning to gain significant traction with web users
looking to have greater control over their online privacy.
As of May 2012 8.6% of desktop
users of the Firefox browser are asking websites not to track
them. According to Mozilla's own stats, that figure increased
from 5.6% in November 2011 - a dramatic increase in less
than 6 months. For Firefox mobile users that figure
is even higher at 19%.
In the last few months of 2012 Google's Chrome
browser has been upgraded to include a Do Not Track function, and
Internet Explorer 10 - the default browser
for Windows 8 - is being shipped to users with Do Not Track
already switched on.
As the vast majority of web users do not change the default
settings in their browser, this means that 2013 is likely to be a
year where increasingly significant numbers of web users will be
asking websites not to track them.
Here is the problem - almost all websites, completely
ignore the request, and go on tracking anyway.
There are two main reasons for this:
- There are no agreed technical standards for how a website
should respond to the request. Efforts on agreeing a standard are
grinding to a halt through opposing interest groups taking
intractable positions.
- There are no laws anywhere in the world requiring websites to
respond to the request - although if the standard efforts fail
completely - these will likely come quite quickly in the major web
economies.
However while all of this is going on, an ever increasing number
of user requests for greater privacy are being ignored, which risks
eroding trust between consumers and businesses even further than it
has been already.
And if you don't think that this is important then you only have
to look at recent surveys that indicate that nearly 30% of
users have stopped using websites that they don't believe
respect their privacy *. That's a big chunk of potential
business for any website.
The good news is - you can choose to do something about it,
without waiting for the law or standards to catch up with the
concerns of your web visitors.
With Optanon on
your website - you can demonstrate to your visitors that you
respect their privacy. Optanon supports the Do Not Track request, and
allows you to decide how your website responds by reducing or
eliminating non-essential tracking of visitors.
If you'd like to find out more about how Optanon can help, get in touch today or
sign-up for a free
30 day trial.
* Truste 2012 Consumer Data
Privacy Study.