"Do Not Track" feature support in Opera

"Do Not Track" feature support in Opera

Firefox has recently announced a "Do Not Track" option, a browser feature that could be toggled to signal to a Web site that a person doesn't wished to be tracked. More details here (Source: https://wiki.mozilla.org/Privacy/Jan2011_DoNotTrack_FAQ ):

Privacy/Jan2011 DoNotTrack FAQ

What is the issue that Mozilla is trying to address? As a nonprofit organization, Mozilla's mission is to make the Internet more open and participatory. We believe it is crucial to put users in control of their online experience. We are seeking ways to give users better insight and control into the ways their personal information is collected, used, stored and shared.

What exactly is Mozilla proposing? Mozilla is proposing a feature in Firefox that will allow the user to let a website know when they would like to opt-out of third-party tracking for behavioral advertising by transmitting a Do Not Track HTTP header every time their data is requested from the Web. When the feature is enabled, advertising networks will be told by Firefox that the user has asked to opt-out of behavioral advertising.

Is this Mozilla’s implementation of Do Not Track? Do Not Track is a first step in putting users in control of the way their information is collected and used online. The HTTP header is one exploration of a do not track capability for the Web; it is the first of many we're planning on investing in to help put users in control of their online experience.

Will the HTTP header be turned on for all Firefox users by default? No, users will need to enable the HTTP header in order to send the signal that they would like to opt-out of tracking. We aim to make this as easy as possible for the user by creating a clear way to opt-out via the Firefox UI. An example could be a checking a box clearly labeled on the Firefox privacy pane.

Will turning on the header block tracking? No. When the header is turned on it will send a signal to the website that the user would like to opt-out of tracking by third parties. This does not force an opt-out or currently require that websites comply. Our hope is that by implementing this header other browsers and websites will adopt and maintain it. It is the first step in developing a setting that clearly gives users a voice and a way to communicate with websites.

How will this change user’s current Firefox experience? Until the feature is enabled, there will not be a notable change in a user’s experience. Like so many new technologies, this feature will only change users’ Web experiences once advertising networks begin to support it; when they do, users may begin to see advertisements that are less tailored to websites they’ve visited.

How much work is required from website developers and advertisers? Many of the entities currently tracking users have a cookie-based opt-out system. This header is intended to be a signal equivalent to the presence of an opt-out cookie. We believe only a small number of changes from websites and advertisers are necessary to switch from looking for opt-out cookies to looking for the header.

Will industry regulators be able to enforce the HTTP header as a do not track tool? This is up to lawmakers and regulators. A header is a clear statement that tracking opt-out is desired.

Is Opera planning to implement a similar feature?

Articles about this:
Web Tool On Firefox To Deter Tracking
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704213404576100441609997236.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Mozilla Proposes ‘Do Not Track’ Addition To Firefox
http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/104300/20110124/mozilla-proposes-do-not-track-addition-to-firefox.htm
Mozilla offers do-not-track tool to thwart ads
http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20029284-264.html

Another question is: Is there an extension for Opera that could opt-out of cookie tracking? If not, can the extension be done, given the current extension API? An example extension like this would be Chrome's Keep My Opt-Outs https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hhnjdplhmcnkiecampfdgfjilccfpfoe and Firefox' Beef Taco (Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-Out) https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/beef-taco-targeted-advertising/

do not worry, THEY are watching you

/irony -off

There is one big flaw with Mozzila 's logic, they assume people will obey the "do not track" header..

Originally posted by c69:

do not worry, THEY are watching you

*Puts tin foil hat on.*

Originally posted by c69:

There is one big flaw with Mozzila 's logic, they assume people will obey the "do not track" header..

The "Do Not Track" header is actually endorsed by the FTC: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/12/privacyreport.shtm If legally enforced, then most web advertisers will have to obey the header.

Also, AFAIK the current cookie method of opting-out from advertising cookies works fine and is not ignored by most web advertisers. See Chrome's Keep My Opt-Outs extension: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hhnjdplhmcnkiecampfdgfjilccfpfoe and Firefox' Beef Taco (Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-Out) extension: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/beef-taco-targeted-advertising/

Still not answered the initial question as I too am interested in the Do Not Track and the other extensions are nice but what about an extension or extensions for Opera as well.?

Originally posted by intergalacticninja:

Is Opera planning to implement a similar feature?

I don't think it's worth spending time on it until it has actually proven to be effective. Aren't both Microsoft and Google working on their own incompatible versions of this as well? Seems like a mess...

And Opera doesn't usually announce new features in the forum, so I don't see why you would bother asking.

Originally posted by Slamdex:

I don't think it's worth spending time on it until it has actually proven to be effective.

It could be tested on an alpha or a beta version. If we don't "spend time" to see if something works, how can we know if it is effective? Also, this is an opt-out feature. Meaning, users who prefer to not have it enabled, can simple not opt-out.

Originally posted by Slamdex:

Aren't both Microsoft and Google working on their own incompatible versions of this as well? Seems like a mess...

I haven't heard that Microsoft and Google are also working into their own versions of the 'Do Not Track' header. Got any sources for this? Google has released an extension that could "force" opting-out thru a permanent cookie method, though. I don't know if IE has a similar feature.

Originally posted by Slamdex:

And Opera doesn't usually announce new features in the forum, so I don't see why you would bother asking.

I thought this was one of the purposes of the Opera forums.

Also, I am asking about the permanent cookie method of opting-out too (already implemented as an extension in Firefox and Chrome (1. from Google) (2. from Privacychoice.org, more tracking companies than Google's)) and if an extension for Opera can be done, given the current extension API?

Originally posted by intergalacticninja:

Originally posted by Slamdex:

And Opera doesn't usually announce new features in the forum, so I don't see why you would bother asking.

I thought this was one of the purposes of the Opera forums.

The purpose of the forum is for people to help other people. They announce new features elsewhere.

Why not use something like the Proxomitron which filters out all ads, filters web beacons, all kinds of crap? I don't see the point in letting advertisers know you don't want to be tracked. Default for everyone should be NO tracking and if you want tracking then you opt IN. It is backwards now and I would never signal to advertisers to not track me.

http://sidki.proxfilter.net/prox.html

News Updates:

'Do Not Track' Internet privacy bill introduced in House
The bill would allow the Federal Trade Commission to force online advertisers to respect the wishes of users who do not want to be tracked for marketing purposes.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-do-not-track-20110212,0,66573.story

Lawmaker introduces online do-not-track bill
"A bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Friday would create a do-not-track tool giving Internet users the power to prohibit online advertising networks and social media sites from tracking their Web behavior and sharing their personal information with other businesses.

The Do Not Track Me Online Act, introduced by Representative Jackie Speier, would direct the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to create standards for a nationwide do-not-track mechanism that would allow Web users to opt out of online tracking and the sharing of consumer data among online businesses.

Websites and ad networks that did not honor the opt-out requests would be subject to unfair or deceptive business practice complaints at the FTC, or enforcement actions by state attorneys general."
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9209178/Lawmaker_introduces_online_do_not_track_bill?taxonomyId=18

Lawmaker Introduces New Privacy Bill
"The bill is the first in this session to specifically tackle the creation of a do-not-track system, according to a spokesman for Ms. Speier. In December, the FTC issued a report recommending the creation of a do-not-track system and suggested that lawmakers use the report as a template for legislation."
http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2011/02/11/lawmaker-introduces-new-privacy-bill/

Bill to Restrict Online Tracking Introduced in Congress
"The bill, known as the Do-Not-Track-Me-Online Act, intends to let people choose a no-tracking setting in their browser and have companies obey that setting. The rules would mainly apply to companies whose primary business is collecting and analyzing data, but has loopholes for companies that collect data to improve their own services. Under those provisions, the FTC could rule website-analytics software to be legal.

The FTC asked browser makers in December to include a Do-Not-Track button in their browser, and called on online-advertising companies to agree to obey the settings. The setting is already available in beta builds of Firefox, and will soon be integrated into Chrome and IE as well.

Speier’s legislation seems directed at behavioral-tracking companies that track users around the web — usually without their knowledge — in order to create marketing profiles about users. The info is then used to serve targeted ads, which can be sold at a premium to advertisers."
http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/02/do-not-track-bill/

Online 'Do Not Track' Bill Introduced in House
""Consumers have a right to determine what if any of their information is shared with big corporations and the federal government must have the authority and tools to enforce reasonable protections," Speier said in a statement.

Once the FTC standards are in place, the bill would require a covered entity - defined as any company engaged in interstate commerce that collects or stores online data - to disclose its collection and data-sharing practices, including with whom they share that information.

Violations could result in fines of up to $11,000 times the number of days a given company is in violation; the maximum penalty is $5 million."
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380151,00.asp

Other news sources:
Do-not-track bill debuts in Congress
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110211/BIZ/102120336/Do-not-track-bill-debuts-Congress?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

Privacy 'Track' Bill Draws Key Support
http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=144858

___________________

Originally posted by Slamdex:

Originally posted by intergalacticninja:

Originally posted by Slamdex:

And Opera doesn't usually announce new features in the forum, so I don't see why you would bother asking.

I thought this was one of the purposes of the Opera forums.

The purpose of the forum is for people to help other people. They announce new features elsewhere.

According to whom? Also, is this "elsewhere", Twitter ?

If the purpose of this forum is "is for people to help other people", can you help me get the answer to the question in my original post:

1.) Is Opera planning to, or will it implement support for the "Do-Not-Track" header or a similar feature?

2.) Is there an extension for Opera that could opt-out of tracking thru permanent opt-out cookies? If not, can the extension be done, given the current extension API? An example extension like this would be Chrome's Keep My Opt-Outs https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/hhnjdplhmcnkiecampfdgfjilccfpfoe or Keep MORE Opt Outs https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/eoibfeagdaaoimfpfalgbmmegagdconp and Firefox' Beef Taco (Targeted Advertising Cookie Opt-Out) https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/beef-taco-targeted-advertising/

I've had Firefox as main browser for years, though I've now switched to Opera, but this is not the topic, if only to say that I have consideration for Mozilla as a whole, but... but this "(Please) Do not track" feature is, IMO, the most naive and/or stupidest feature I have ever encountered in ten years of computing, and moreover dangerous for those who may believe (rely) on such nonsense. Not one tracking company will follow such a requirement, not one.
If you wish not to be tracked, follow good old advice, forbid cookies for third parties, use HOSTS file, anti-adware (Ad Muncher is system wide), refer to browser's cookie manager (Opera is one of the best: on a given site, right-click menu and 'Site Preferences' is at your orders), etc etc .... BUT do it to them before they do it to you even if, above all, evil is not the main feature of the Web and paranoia no solution. Just be "aware" and use dedicated tools
Did I mention that a "Do not track" feature splits me between lol and grrr ?!

Actually IE 9 is the only browser that has an effective built in tracking blocker. The tracklist with Microsoft sanctioned and listed easy privacy TPL list is very effective according to http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/privacy-protection-and-ie9-who-can-you-trust/3014

Opera and Firefox can have probably equally as effective tracking blockers, but they aren't built in. With Firefox you will need adblock plus and Opera you would have to use Fanboy's adblock+tracking block list. Chrome has offiical opt out extension, but I have no idea how it works and how effective it is.

As for Firefox no track header, I think they are banking on legislation. If the government mandate that companies respect the No Track header, than at least the US advertising company have no choice to follow. I rather it not get to that, b/c the FCC is one of the most incompetent government regulators ever and it would change the landscape of the internet in ways we do not know of.


Edit: grammer, link

Updates:

Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF):
"What Does the "Track" in "Do Not Track" Mean?"
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/02/what-does-track-do-not-track-mean

EFF submitted comments urging the Federal Trade Commission to defend online privacy by supporting the header-based Do Not Track feature:
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=https://www.eff.org/files/FTCcommentsEFF.pdf

It seems to me that "do not track" will be about as effective as the P3P privacy policy header that was tried as a way to determine whether a browser should allow a site to set cookies by looking at a short form of the privacy policy. Microsoft did this with Internet Explorer, and Mozilla tried it for a short time. The problem is that there is no way to force the webserver setup to tell the truth about what information they want to keep. There is also no way currently to force advertisers to agree to a "Do not track" compliance procedure.
Opt out cookies are a farce. It is ridiculous to have a cookie that is telling websites not to set cookies. Those opt out cookies are too easily lost. If you do not want the advertisers to set cookies, you default to blocking them and allow only those that you need.

Originally posted by Ghive:

Not one tracking company will follow such a requirement, not one.

Just like "not one" tracking company follows the "cookie" opt-out method, right?

Network Advertising Initiative Opt-Out Tool
http://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp
Self-Regulatory Program for Online Behavioral Advertising
http://www.aboutads.info/choices/

Originally posted by Ghive:

If you wish not to be tracked, follow good old advice, forbid cookies for third parties, use HOSTS file, anti-adware (Ad Muncher is system wide), refer to browser's cookie manager (Opera is one of the best: on a given site, right-click menu and 'Site Preferences' is at your orders), etc etc ....

I already forbird third party cookies, Ad-muncher is not freeware, editing the HOSTS file manually is tiresome and toiling (I prefer that my computer and software do the work for me rather than me toiling for them, as this defeats the purpose of a computer and software.), updating your HOSTS file from a certain source is just like using AdBlock Plus (or urlfilter.ini for Opera), which I already do.

Originally posted by Ghive:

BUT do it to them before they do it to you even if, above all, evil is not the main feature of the Web and paranoia no solution.

I agree. Evil should not be the main feature of the web. I hate the paranoia surrounding the privacy issues, too. But the sad truth is, money runs the web's greasy engines. And we all know what the root of all evil is, right?

Regular web users like you and me are not the customers of Facebook, Google, etc. What does that mean? It means we're the product (our information, data, browsing behavior and all the other things that we enter into these websites). And business for these websites, is damn good. It's in the gajillions, I believe.

Originally posted by Ghive:

Just be "aware" and use dedicated tools

I am "aware" and that's why I am asking for these "dedicated tools" for Opera. ツ

Originally posted by Ghive:

I've had Firefox as main browser for years, though I've now switched to Opera, but this is not the topic, if only to say that I have consideration for Mozilla as a whole, but... but this "(Please) Do not track" feature is, IMO, the most naive and/or stupidest feature I have ever encountered in ten years of computing, and moreover dangerous for those who may believe (rely) on such nonsense. Not one tracking company will follow such a requirement, not one.
If you wish not to be tracked, follow good old advice, forbid cookies for third parties, use HOSTS file, anti-adware (Ad Muncher is system wide), refer to browser's cookie manager (Opera is one of the best: on a given site, right-click menu and 'Site Preferences' is at your orders), etc etc .... BUT do it to them before they do it to you even if, above all, evil is not the main feature of the Web and paranoia no solution. Just be "aware" and use dedicated tools
Did I mention that a "Do not track" feature splits me between lol and grrr ?!

The truth is what's more important than the feature itself is the "psychological effect" AND joint effort of companies that do have measures to make spying us at least more difficult and less profitable. It personally bothers me that a person "years in computing" does not see that...

@ intergalacticninja,

Thanks for the links. Please continue to keep this updated, as there is a tendency to 'not care' because of 'lack of knowledge'. Good job.

Originally posted by intergalacticninja:

Another question is: Is there an extension for Opera that could opt-out of cookie tracking? If not, can the extension be done, given the current extension API?

Im surprise that there is no 'Cookie Tracking Opt-Out' Extension for Opera. Do Opera truly champion Extensions through active intervention via its valued relationships, or is the Extension community merely a "free flowing' object based value proposition commodity only?

EDIT: Just saw this blog that states:

Google is the only modern Web browser that has yet to sign on to the Do Not Track feature that is or will be included with Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, and Opera.

If correct, does this mean we can expect Opera to provide this in a new snapshot?

To address rising concerns about privacy on the Web, W3C publishes today two first drafts for standards that allow users to express preferences about online tracking:

http://www.w3.org/2011/11/dnt-pr.html.en

Time to act...

Originally posted by netwolf:

Time to act...

Yeah just read about it at - http://news.softpedia.com/news/The-W3C-Proposes-Do-Not-Track-Online-Privacy-Standard-234722.shtml

But Do Not Track will most likely not make it into Opera 12.00 - so we will have to wait patiently for some months.

Still, it's obvious that the matter is serious enough it the W3C got involved. And plenty of companies directly involved in the matter are behind the initiative, including Mozilla, Opera, Microsoft, Apple and Google, but also Adobe, Facebook, IBM or Yahoo.

Google makes 90% of their money on people's private data. Quite the advocate of pro-privacy standards...

Originally posted by Bucic:

Still, it's obvious that the matter is serious enough it the W3C got involved. And plenty of companies directly involved in the matter are behind the initiative, including Mozilla, Opera, Microsoft, Apple and Google, but also Adobe, Facebook, IBM or Yahoo.

Google makes 90% of their money on people's private data. Quite the advocate of pro-privacy standards...

It's as old as the hills: get yourself a seat on the regulatory board or some industry-advisory/standards panel and you have a larger degree of influence and control over what occurs. Put another way, Google et al want major input into what emerges and how it gets enforced so that their "interests" (ie: business models) are protected.

This initiative has its pros and cons..for sure. I agree with the general concerns expressed here:
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=630357

Enabling this option will have two effects:

a) Websites can tell that you do not want to be "tracked"
b) Websites will more easily be able to track you "silently" without using cookies to do so (aka "fingerprinting") because only some users enable the header, and it thus makes your set of headers more distinct from the headers of others.

So what the proposal is hoping, is that the privacy benefits to users from a) (supported by laws and such - but will these be monitored and enforceable?) will outweigh the harm to privacy caused by b).

I'm honestly not sure if I would personally enable this preference or not!

However, Opera will be implementing an option that lets you enable the Do-Not-Track header. If there are signs that compliance with it is being monitored (for example by the EFF) and big ad companies obey the rules, I might even enable it myself, some day..

Edit: it should be fairly obvious that most of the above is personal musings and not some sort of official Opera statement on the value of the "do not track" initiative. I'm hereby personally responsible for leaking the news that it is on the roadmap to those who care

Originally posted by hallvors:

However, Opera will be implementing an option that lets you enable the Do-Not-Track header.

Thanks for the news! Since Opera 12.00 is already stuffed with unstable features and Opera 13.x is expected to have ICC Color profiles support (which means that there will be the best possible effort to include ICC Color Profiles support in Opera 13.10/13.50), so Opera team is already having a good pack of pending things - I will keep my expectation to Opera 14.00; it would a surprise if you do it before that.

While so kind of you for disclosing that Do Not Track is on the roadmap please tell us how would you implement it? A Mozilla-like 'Do Not Track' header or preventing websites from gaining information via the cookies, like the Microsoft and Google attempt.

I think Opera 14 makes sense because by that time (end of 2013) I think finally it would become a law that websites cannot track the user if he has choosed to opt-out of tracking in the browser.

Originally posted by Swapnil99pro:

While so kind of you for disclosing that Do Not Track is on the roadmap please tell us how would you implement it? A Mozilla-like 'Do Not Track' header

Originally posted by hallvors:

However, Opera will be implementing an option that lets you enable the Do-Not-Track header.

May I add after reading this thread: in order to appease the naive average user.

Originally posted by Swapnil99pro:

or preventing websites from gaining information via the cookies, like the Microsoft and Google attempt.

No idea what Microsoft and Google are attemting but Opera already has the afferent settings available in opera:config.
They are obscured because they can break a number of websites that require third party cookies to work.

Originally posted by Swapnil99pro:

I think Opera 14 makes sense because by that time (end of 2013) I think finally it would become a law that websites cannot track the user if he has choosed to opt-out of tracking in the browser.

I wish I could share your optimism. I can't recall a single law since the last past 20 years really made in favor for the user.

Originally posted by Krake:

May I add after reading this thread: in order to appease the naive average user.

JUST to appease the average user - that's what Microsoft and Google do - not Opera.

Originally posted by Krake:

I wish I could share your optimism. I can't recall a single law since the last past 20 years really made in favor for the user.

You never know what can happen.
The law is a requirement to make Mozilla's attempt successful. Microsoft's attempt is currently effective and while not a completely full proof attempt it is successful at blocking 70% of cookie-based trackers. Google attempt makes no difference as it is not directly integrated into the browser - it is an extension and average users don't even know of it.
Overall, the extension ad-blockers, the attempts by Microsoft and Mozilla (and in future - Opera) and projects like Ghostery if put together can lead to success of Do Not Track.

Originally posted by Swapnil99pro:

... I think Opera 14 makes sense because by that time (end of 2013) I think finally it would become a law that websites cannot track the user if he has choosed to opt-out of tracking in the browser.

I'm not sure how many "laws" have actually been enforced into any browser design yet nor into a large number of websites. Part of the problem is that the Internet, browsers, websites, and users are distributed worldwide into a couple hundred separate legal jurisdictions that, in all too many "rights" and "responsibility" categories, fail to see eye to eye about much of anything. In most cases, "standards" get implemented by the standards consortiums (and then incorporated into browsers and sites) that reflect legal concerns within certain key jurisdictions, but it's hard to see how laws can actually be made to drive browser design directly, given that browser adoption is an individual user choice and browsers are free products designed in/by a variety of countries. It's equally hard to see how one nation's "laws" will be driven into websites operating under another nation's rules.

Thanks for clearing that up blackbird71 - never thought it was so hard.

Originally posted by Swapnil99pro:

never thought it was so hard

Privacy is a hard, hard problem on the web. We've been worrying about cookies, but there are more ways to track you than you might think, and they are often trivially easy. You browser sends for example UA string + preferred language + OS information in HTTP headers. The server might send back a file with a specific date, and each time the browser requests that file it will send an "If-Modified-Since" header with that date in. This alone gives an undercover tracker more than enough data to uniquely identify millions of users - without sending any cookies that you might block or randomly delete. So yes, doing something that truly improves user privacy rather than just gives them a false sense of security, is a lot harder than it might seem at first glance :-(

Persistent and Unblockable Cookies Using HTTP Headers

There is no other real solution, other than clearing and disabling your cache, but conditional GET's still take place during a browser session with some browsers.

You just keep on telling about the DNT for Firefox, but what about Opera and Opera Mini?