Microsoft builds online tracking blocking feature into IE9
www.jackmancer.com (545 pencils) | Wed, 2010-12-08 16:31Microsoft is building an anti-tracking function into its upcoming version of Internet Explorer (9). The new feature will let users easily keep lists of websites that track what they do online, and block any site from logging their web activity.
This silly feature is going to lead to distorted results of devices like Google Analytics, as IE users might not be tracked. I can only assume clicks by IE users, made on online banners, won't be counted either, which might mean the end of 'pay-per-click-ads'.
Ad agencies and tracking firms, who argue that much of the internet’s free services are dependent upon targeted advertising, will probably be as annoyed as I am.
Do you think privacy is harmed by tracking devices?
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I have a better question - does anyone still use IE? And if so... why?
9% of the visitors of my site use IE, though I think it's not the best example, since more design orientated people, and "computer-aware" persons visit it. I dunno how to label it. But many places, like my school, internet cafe's or things like that have IE, just like the millions of people with a Windows who never thought about replacing their standard browser.
A vast amount of people doesn't even know what Firefox or Chrome is.
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All good points. Guess I wasn't thinking it thru. :)
One of the sites I administer (a commercial fashion site) has a 65% IE user base. The rest are Firefox and Safari.
I'm in two minds about this. If information is being tracked "anonymously" I don't really have an issue. Ex. OS, Browser, Sex, Age.
As soon as that information starts being connected to my name, person, ID number I get a little more nervous. Personally, my life is pretty much an open book, but I've read enough history, sci-fi and current news to realise that this information can be abused - by marketing, by criminals, and God forbid, by governments.
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i don't know what the changes will be for the advertising market, but honestly, as an end user, i want to know what's being tracked about my web usage and who's doing the tracking. and any control over what other people track about me should be controlled by me, not the sites i'm visiting.
remember a couple of things here.
(a) as was noted (in different words) above, much of the web browsing public are sheep. and many of the sheep use IE. and most of them don't upgrade until they get a new computer with a new operating system that has an updated version of IE.
(b) those people, even if they have this feature, are unlikely to know they have it, or, if they do, how to use it.
keep in mind that other browser companies are looking into doing the same thing. i've seen rumors of it coming out in firefox as well. chrome's ownership by google would seem to make them not a candidate to do so, but you never know.
from another perspective, how does this compare to ad blocker plugins? have ad blockers destroyed the ad model, as many predicted they would when they started becoming more popular?
Hehe, I think "sheeps" is a pretty good term ;-)
And yeah your reply is somewhat comforting hehe. Indeed, ad blockers didn't really mean the end of ads either.
It could be a big debate about who's to control the tracking, the visitor of the site or the site itself. I completely understand your point and agree with it but on the other hand, if you don't like to be tracked on sites of your choosing you could choose not to use those sites, just like some people don't use Facebook cause they have to fill in information.
But yeah it might be just a storm in a glass of water.
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EVERYBODY WITH A BRAIN USES IE!
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This is interesting for sure.
On the end of working for a business that sells online advertising, I can see how this could become a concern if it became exceedingly popular and everyone started using it. Not sure how likely that will be, though.
On the end of the user visiting different web sites, I'll admit it is a tad creepy to pop over to a web site and have ads served up to me about, let's say horseback riding because I did a Google search earlier about horseback riding and visited a couple web sites that discussed horseback riding.
I know on the advertising end, the advertisers are doing it to try and target customers who are clearly interested in a service they may provide. It's not being done maliciously. None of those advertisers are forcing me to purchase their product or service. It's no different, really, than approaching the perfume counter at Macy's and having a sales representative approach me and ask me "are you interested in purchasing some perfume today?"
The problem I have with it is the security of that information and how much of it they're pulling from me. I would certainly take issue if the horseback riding advertiser was also provided information about my current bank account balance.
Would be interesting if all web sites offered an "Opt-In" procedure for their visitors instead of automatically enrolling them in tracking and forcing visitors to have to opt-out.
The automatic opting in to website cookies is kinda like going to the mall and finding that every time you entered a shop, a sales rep secretly planted a camera on your person and they watched you purchase a pair of jeans from one retailer, a bottle of vodka from another, and then breeze in and out of the adult fetish store. ;)
Firefox is also coming up with an anti tracking button, now confirmed:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101219/tc_afp/usitinternetprivacysoftwaremozillagooglemicrosoft
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