Apple Adds Do-Not-Track Tool to New Browser (leaves Google with the last major anti-privacy browser)

[onehandle]

Apple Inc. has added a do-not-track privacy tool to a test version of its latest Web browser for keeping customers' online activities from being monitored by marketers.

The tool is included within the latest test release of Lion, a version of Apple's Mac OS X operating system that is currently available only to developers. The final version of the operating system is scheduled to be released to the public this summer. Mentions of the do-not-track feature in Apple's Safari browser began to appear recently in online discussion forums and on Twitter.

The move by the Cupertino, Calif., company leaves Google Inc. as the only major browser provider that hasn't yet committed to supporting a do-no-track capability in its browser, called Chrome. Microsoft Corp. and Mozilla Corp. both offer do-not-track features in their latest browsers.

A spokesman for Google, which is a major player in online advertising, said the company "will continue to be involved closely" in industry discussions about do-not-track. In the meantime, he said Google offers an add-on program for Chrome that users can download called "Keep My Opt-Outs" that will let users request that their data not be used for targeted advertising. (Meaning, it's Not Built In and Not Automatic like the other companies' browsers).

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703551304576261272308358858.html

[Berserker]

1. Apple

would have to pay me to use any of the products they have. Eat shit Apple.

[loudsue]

3. I recently switched to Apple... I love it.

Wish I had done it years ago.

[Initech]

2. Mozilla - you can get some great privacy blockers for free on Firefox 4.

[NightWatcher]

8. unrelated Mozilla tidbit. Be aware of a hijack trojan horse that's going around

You probably wont realize you have it until it starts hijacking your google searches and taking you to links you didnt click on. It took me several days to remove......I hope I got it removed

[upi402]

4. A Norton tech made Chrome my browser w/o my permission

I gave him my system to fix a known virus they missed - and he made Chrome my default browser, google homepage.

scrub

[hobbit709]

6. There is such a thing as a "Norton tech"?

You couldn't pay me to use Norton any more than I would use IE

[upi402]

12. Whatever you call the human that eventually answers the phone

when you call 1-800-OHSHIT!

Agreed. They offered me 50% off to not cancel. Me: "NO WAY!"
They missed blocking the same known issue twice and wanted $99/minute the next time I called to complain.

Google & Youtube gave me the solution.:rofl:

[HopeHoops]

5. Keep in mind that Chrome was created SPECIFICALLY to track data.

Google has never made any effort to hide that fact. The entire purpose for Chrome is to collect browsing data and make money off of selling it to advertisers. Period. Adding a "do not track" feature to Chrome would be like buying a new car and immediately putting it up on blocks.

[onehandle]

9. Yep. Chrome and Android is made by an Ad company that makes tracking deals with its real customers:

Companies that want your personal data.

I block Flash (which infects you through ads with tracking and spyware) and most ads on my Mac. Now with this new release of Safari, I have even more control over my privacy.

[HopeHoops]

10. I've got a pretty long list that AdBlock Plus uses (Firefox) to keep my browsing speedy.

A lot of it isn't about privacy - it is just "DON'T SLOW MY FUCKING COMPUTER DOWN WITH BULLSHIT" stuff I'm blocking.

[onehandle]

11. One thing that all browsers are prone to, memory bloat.

I've watched them all increase the amount of RAM they use and have found that simply quitting and restarting browsers once or twice a day, keeps my computer more 'peppy.'

Clearing your cache is not the same.

[AlabamaLibrul]

7. Chromium is open source, Chrome is Chromium minus everything that makes it a good browser

and besides, Chromium has been on Linux a lot longer. I wasn't going to run WINE just to run some crappy data-mining Google browser, so I went with Chromium.

And it has a privacy mode. Unlike the crappy data-mining Google browser.