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Remember "Do Not Track," the initiative in the WhiteHouse's Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights that called for an opt-out button for users who don't wantto be tracked by different sites? Well, it's still alive andit has an influential new supporter Twitter. Right now, you can select "Do Not Track" options inFirefox, Internet Explorer and Safari, which send a message towebsites that you don't feel like being followed around theweb with cookies. The problem is that it's up to individualwebsites to comply; there's no legal reason why theycan't just ignore it. ( MORE: Technology s Perfect Storm Is Coming This Fall ) So, who is cooperating with "Do Not Track" and who isstill collecting your information regardless of whether you wantthem to or not? Twitter: A Why is it such a bold move for Twitter to embrace "Do NotTrack?" Because it's still trying to figure out how tomake money. Right now, the company follows you around websites thathave installed Twitter buttons or widgets, basing its "Who toFollow" recommendations on which websites you'vevisited. Allowing people to opt out of being tracked when it's stilltrying to nail down a business plan is admirable. Twitter evengives easy-to-follow directions on how to do it. Along with its recent decision to fight a courtorder asking for a Twitter user's data, it looks like thecompany is intent on getting on its user base's good sidebefore going public. Yahoo: B Yahoo claims it will implement "Do Not Track" acrossall of its properties by early summer, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal . Yes, it hasn't been as quick to act as Twitter, but itstands to reason that a global network of many websites would takea bit longer to get organized than a single social media site. Still, while I'm glad the company said it's "been working diligently to develop technical specificationsand compliance guidelines for the implementation of the Do NotTrack signal," the fact is they haven't shown usanything concrete yet. Vague wording and vague schedulesdon't do anything in the short term to placate worries aboutuser privacy. Google: B- Google's entire business model is built around having accessto your data. Thus it's easy to understand why the companyhas been lukewarm when it comes to implementing "Do NotTrack." The three browsers that have "Do Not Track" optionsbuilt in: Safari, Internet Explorer and Firefox. Notice onemissing? That would be Google Chrome, which has a company-developedextension called " Keep My Opt-Outs " and a third-party " Do Not Track " extension, but no easy-to-use check box like otherbrowsers. However, "Google is expected to enable do-not-trackin its Chrome Web browser by the end of this year," reports the Wall Street Journal . When the White House's initial proposal was released inFebruary, Google gave broad support of the initiative , saying it was pleased that the agreement "will ensure thatusers are given an explicit choice, and be fully informed of theavailable options." Google has not, however, done much beyondthe promise of a future "Do Not Track" option inChrome. Facebook : D Facebook was not one of the companies to throw its support behindthe Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. Perhaps even more so than Google, its business depends on knowingas much as possible about its users. And since Facebook just wentpublic, it will now face pressure to from investors who want thecompany to monetize its giant user base. If you dig through Facebook's Data Use Policy , the company offers an explanation about how it uses cookies , but only extends the following advice if you don't want tobe tracked: "You can always remove or block cookies (such asby using the settings in your browser), but it may affect yourability to use Facebook." The reference to "settings in your browser" isdifferent from enabling the "Do Not Track" option inFirefox, Internet Explorer or Safari. In this case, it refers toremoving or blocking cookies in your browser's privacysettings section manually. Here's how to do that in Firefox , Internet Explorer , Safari and Chrome . MORE: Number One: Google Chrome Finally Slips Ahead of Internet Explorer. I am an expert from rfid-smartcard.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Rfid Smart Card Manufacturer , Rfid Wrist Band, Rfid Card Reader,and more.
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