Google's Getting on Board with 'Do Not Track' Technology in Chrome Browser
An upcoming version of Google's Chrome browser will finally offer support for Do Not Track (DNT) technology, which is a privacy measure that, in theory, prevents websites from dropping advertising cookies into the browser. It's a feature that's already available in Firefox and Internet Explorer, and by the end of the year, Google says Chrome will have it, too.
"We undertook to honor an agreement on DNT that the industry reached with the White House early this year," a Google spokesman told InformationWeek in an email. "To that end we're making this setting visible in our Chromium developer channel, so that it will be available in upcoming versions of Chrome by year's end."
Google doesn't yet offer native Do Not Track technology in Chrome, but does have an add-on (Keep My Opt-Outs) that does the same thing.
DNT works its mojo by adding an extra header field to HTTP requests for webpages. If set to "1" the browser will accept the tracking cookie, and if set to "0" it will reject it. However, for DNT to work, it requires that websites honor the request and not simply ignore it.
It's unclear how close to the end of the year Google plans to implement DNT technology into Chrome. As of right now, the feature doesn't appear in Chrome's developer channel.
"We undertook to honor an agreement on DNT that the industry reached with the White House early this year," a Google spokesman told InformationWeek in an email. "To that end we're making this setting visible in our Chromium developer channel, so that it will be available in upcoming versions of Chrome by year's end."
Google doesn't yet offer native Do Not Track technology in Chrome, but does have an add-on (Keep My Opt-Outs) that does the same thing.
DNT works its mojo by adding an extra header field to HTTP requests for webpages. If set to "1" the browser will accept the tracking cookie, and if set to "0" it will reject it. However, for DNT to work, it requires that websites honor the request and not simply ignore it.
It's unclear how close to the end of the year Google plans to implement DNT technology into Chrome. As of right now, the feature doesn't appear in Chrome's developer channel.
