AP Registry joins "Do Not Track" header system to protect users

Posted by Meghan Hartsell on April 1, 2011 at 5:09 PM

In an increasingly intrusive world, many users fear for their privacy. Today, they can breathe a little easier. The AP News Registry service implemented a "Do Not Track" (DNT) header in their web browsers, according to paidContent.

The header is a privacy tool launched by Mozilla in January, said the company's blog. The Associated Press is the largest company to implement it. According to TechEye, the company will implement the change across 800 news sites that receive 175 million visitors each month. The whole process took one engineer only a few hours to put into operation.

AP started its news registry to help collect data for news organizations. It allows it to track usage of their content and keep it from being exploited over the Internet. Implementing DNT headers will not harm the large part of the data it receives. Even though it will stop it from being able to see the specific links users have clicked on in a progression, it will still be able to see the number for which links are the most popular.

Although this might still keep AP from getting some statistics, Vice President and CTO Todd Martin remains positive. In an interview with paidContent, he said, "User privacy and user preferences are important. Specific information we get from correlation is secondary to our primary objective, which is to help publishers understand how their content is being used. There are other ways to create audience segmentation."

Of course, paidContent pointed out users still may get tracked on AP sites because it's not the only service putting cookies on the websites. Several ad networks don't recognize DNT headers, although several are talking to Mozilla.

While Mozilla has been getting positive feedback from companies about the header, it isn't useful unless websites recognize it, according to Wired. They only way for it to work is to turn it on is checking the "Do Not Track" box in the "Advanced" section of the Firefox screen in the "Options" on a PC or "Preferences" on a Mac.

Mozilla's blog said, "We'll continue working with our users, online advertisers, publishers, developers, consumer groups and policy makers to flesh out DNT implementations and ensure DNT evolves into a meaningful tool for enhancing consumer privacy online. We believe the HTTP header is a constructive approach and one of the many areas we're exploring to put users in control of their Web experience."

Sources: Mozilla, paidContent (1), (2), PC Mag, TechEye, Wired