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Twitter Confirms Support For Do Not Track

Posted by Unknown on from the pinky-swear dept.

oyenamit writes "In a significant boost to online privacy, Twitter has announced that they will officially support the Do Not Track feature in browsers. While this is a good news for privacy advocates and users in general, it leaves Twitter to use only the information that is handed over to them by the users for advertising purposes."

10 of 33 comments (clear)

  1. As it should be... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If people want to provide their information in exchange for targeted advertising and such, so be it.

    To amass tons of personal information on people without their knowledge or consent should be the exception to the rule (broken by only the most disreputable of online operators), not the rule itself.

    Also, hurray for Firefox, a driving force in protection of privacy and browser customization. :)

    1. Re:As it should be... by thsths · · Score: 3, Informative

      > Same goes here, there really should be government regulations telling them that they can't do this without permission.

      In a huge part of the world there is, and tracking is only legal with the user's consent. But nobody seems to care.

  2. DNT can only be implemented in the *browser* by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    By for example not storing cookies, not running javascripts from tracking sites, not loading web bugs, and if you really want to be careful, surfing through a proxy. RequestPolicy helps a lot too.

    Anything else is just an illusion that will lull the less tech literate into a false sense of security. Sure, a few sites may honor some DNT sent from your browser, but you'll never know which don't, and if laws require it, the tracking will just be pushed outside the USA e.g, outside the jurisdiction of those laws. And if any sites don't, then you STILL have the original problem: you're being tracked. Unless this reaches 100% support among all web sites in all countries, it's useless, because your browser not leaking the data in the first place is still the only way to avoid being tracked.

    If you don't want sites tracking you, don't leak information they can track! Otherwise you're just fooling yourself. And for the love of christ, don't use google or facebook or load any of their tracking crap that's spewed all around the web these days.

    1. Re:DNT can only be implemented in the *browser* by ickleberry · · Score: 4, Insightful

      DNT gives sites the opportunity to *let on* they don't track people.

      You'd have to be naive as fcuk to believe what some company claims to do in their legalese wall of text privacy policy has much bearing on what actually goes on.

    2. Re:DNT can only be implemented in the *browser* by 0123456 · · Score: 2

      Nobody is knocking at your door, nobody has destroyed your chance at promotion and nobody has kidnapped your children.

      Yet.

    3. Re:DNT can only be implemented in the *browser* by arth1 · · Score: 2

      people who care about their privacy too much

      Does. Not. Compute.

      I am willing to fight and die for your children not living under Ingsoc.

  3. I thought... by kenh · · Score: 4, Funny

    I thought the whole point of Twitter was to collect followers? Maybe they could launch a new service for those folks that want to share intimate stories but not have anyone read it - I even have the perfect name for it - "/dev/null"

    --
    Ken
  4. double standards by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "...it leaves Twitter to use only the information that is handed over to them by the users for advertising purposes."

    THIS IS A BAD THING???!!!!???

    Most everyone on this site complains how much is being collected. A company decides not to collect information from unwilling and unsuspecting people and all the comments are negative. Maybe the US Government is right in collecting all they can. People don't seem to know what they want anyway.

  5. The solution is feed them FALSE Tracking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the browser fed the trackers completely false and misleading information information, that would be the worst thing imaginable for them, and best for me. Scripts, Java and cookies could all be intercepted , and crap or carefully crafted false data feed back.

    I will pay handsomely for the first app to tease and conspire against tracking sites to feed them complete crap, and spoil their leads database and expensive marketing campaigns. Better would be to dynamically offer competing site 'B', or give a popup saying oh 'Porn Subscription Advertising popup blocked - IP info of Senator xxxxxx at the White-house has been substituted and subscribed.

    The false email names and addresses I give out make it abundantly clear they have been duded. Advertisers would soon figure out they are paying $100's or $1000's for crap leads. Technology has not (yet) been used to counter the problem.

    One big problem remains. Use Ebay or Amazon to look at pregnancy test kits or baby clothes, and you mailbox becomes stuffed - even if your address begins with 'White Lady Funeral Crematorium', as do new car brochures. Lots of stock paper for burning...

  6. So what changed? by Altanar · · Score: 3, Informative

    Has Twitter *ever* used direct browser data to advertise? I thought 100% of their business model was giving paid suggestions depending on your public tweets and follow list. The DNT toggle won't change that. They're essentially not changing anything. It's not like Twitter has regular ads on the site. They're all paid stream inserts and paid trending topics. The paid inserts have never been based off a cookie or off-site browser behavior.