Yahoo this week announced that it won’t be honoring “Do Not Track” requests from users anymore either, because it wants to offer them a personalized web experience whether they like it or not.
“As of today, web browser Do Not Track settings will no longer be enabled on Yahoo,” the company explained in a blog post. “As the first major tech company to implement Do Not Track, we’ve been at the heart of conversations surrounding how to develop the most user-friendly standard. However, we have yet to see a single standard emerge that is effective, easy to use and has been adopted by the broader tech industry.”
“Do Not Track signals a user’s opt-out preference with an HTTP header, a simple technology that is completely compatible with the existing web,” the project website says, adding that the feature is yet to see the widespread implementation users want.
“While some third parties have committed to honor Do Not Track, many more have not. In February 2012, the major online advertising trade groups pledged at the White House to support Do Not Track by year-end; that promise remains unfulfilled. Efforts to standardize Do Not Track in the World Wide Web Consortium have resulted in deadlock, despite frequent urging by American and European policymakers,” the Do Not Track website says.
Yahoo says that users can still manage their privacy using the many tools it offers via its Yahoo Privacy Center, while enjoying a personalized experience.
Yahoo isn’t the only one ignoring the Do Not Track feature in browsers that would prevent users from being tracked by websites. Google has a similar attitude towards the feature. Of the short list of web services that support Do Not Track, Twitter and Pinterest are two of the names that stand out.
