Do Not Track (DNT) is adeprecated non-standard[1] HTTP header field designed to allow internet users to opt out of tracking by websites—which includes the collection of data regarding a user's activity across multiple distinct contexts, and the retention, use, or sharing of data derived from that activity outside the context in which it occurred.[2]
The Do Not Track header was originally proposed in 2009[3] and was adopted by most major browsers within a few years. However, the header failed to find widespread respect among the publishers,[4] due to the lack of legislation requiring companies to legally respect the DNT header and confusion about the header meaning.[5] The DNT header was abandoned by standards bodies such as theW3C.[4] As of 2025, some browsers had removed the header, includingApple Safari andMozilla Firefox.[6][7]
In 2020, a coalition of US-based internet companies announced theGlobal Privacy Control header that succeeds DNT header. The creators hope that this new header will meet the definition of "user-enabled global privacy controls" defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In this case, the new header would be automatically strengthened by existing laws and companies would be required to honor it.
The DNT header accepts three values:1 in case the user does not want to be tracked(opt-out),0 in case the user consents to be tracked(opt-in), ornull (no header sent) if the user has not expressed a preference. The default behavior required by the document draft is not to send the header unless the user enables the setting via their browser or their choice is implied by the use of that specific browser.[8]
| Browser | Added | Comment | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Version | Release date | Version | Release date | ||
| Firefox | 4.0 | March 22, 2011 | 135[7] | February 4, 2025[9] | Header disabled by default |
| Google Chrome | 23 | June 11, 2012 | N/A | N/A | Header disabled by default |
| Safari | 6 | July 25, 2012 | 12.1[10] | March 25, 2019 | Header disabled by default |
| Microsoft Edge | 12 | July 29, 2015 | N/A | N/A | |
| Internet Explorer | 9[11] | Different browser version | |||
In 2007, several consumer advocacy groups asked the U.S.Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to create a Do Not Track list for online advertising. The proposal would have required that online advertisers submit their information to the FTC, which would compile a machine-readable list of thedomain names used by those companies to place cookies or otherwise track consumers.[12]
In July 2009, researchers Christopher Soghoian and Sid Stamm implemented support for the Do Not Track header in the Firefox web browser via a prototype add-on.[3] Stamm was, at the time, a privacy engineer at Mozilla, while Soghoian soon afterward started working at the FTC.[13] One year later, during a U.S. Senate privacy hearing, FTC ChairmanJon Leibowitz told the Senate Commerce Committee that the commission was exploring the idea of proposing a "do-not-track" list.[2]
In December 2010, the FTC issued a privacy report that called for a "do-not-track" system that would enable people to avoid having their actions being monitored online.[14]
One week later, Microsoft announced that its next browser would include support for Tracking Protection Lists that block tracking of consumers using blacklists supplied by third parties.[15] In January 2011, Mozilla announced that its Firefox browser would soon provide a Do Not Track solution, via a browser header.[16] Microsoft'sInternet Explorer 9,[17] Apple's Safari,[18] Opera[19] and Google Chrome[20] all later added support for the header approach.
In August 2015, a coalition of privacy groups led by the Electronic Frontier Foundation usingW3C's Tracking Preference Expression (DNT) standard proposed that "Do not track" be the goal for advocates to demand of businesses.[21]
In January 2019, the W3C Tracking Protection Working Group was disbanded, citing "insufficient deployment of these extensions" and lack of "indications of planned support among user agents, third parties, and the ecosystem at large".[22][23] Beginning the following month, Apple removed DNT support from Safari starting from version 12.1, citing that it could be used as a "fingerprinting variable" for tracking.[24]
In December 2024, developer builds of Firefox lost support for DNT header. Mozilla updated documentation about DNT to clarify that the browser no longer supports the header and recommended to useGlobal Privacy Control header instead. This change is expected to reach users in Firefox 135 which is expected to be released in January 2025.[25]
When using the "Express" settings upon installation, a Do Not Track option is enabled by default forInternet Explorer 10 andWindows 8.[26] Microsoft faced criticism for its decision to enable Do Not Track by default[27] from advertising companies, who say that use of the Do Not Track header should be a choice made by the user and must not be automatically enabled. The companies also said that this decision would violate theDigital Advertising Alliance's agreement with the U.S. government to honor a Do Not Track system, because the coalition said it would only honor such a system if it were not enabled by default by web browsers.[28] A Microsoft spokesperson defended its decision however, stating that users would prefer a web browser that automatically respected their privacy.[29]
On September 7, 2012,Roy Fielding, an author of the Do Not Track proposal,committed a patch to the source code of theApache HTTP Server, which would make the server explicitly ignore any use of the Do Not Track header by users of Internet Explorer 10. Fielding wrote that Microsoft's decision "deliberately violates" the Do Not Track specification because it "does not protect anyone's privacy unless the recipients believe it was set by a real human being, with a real preference for privacy over personalization". The Do Not Track specification did not explicitly mandate that the use of Do Not Track actually be a choice until after the feature was implemented in Internet Explorer 10.[30] According to Fielding, Microsoft knew its Do Not Track signals would be ignored, and that its goal was to effectively give an illusion of privacy while still catering to their own interests.[31] On October 9, 2012, Fielding's patch wascommented out, restoring the previous behavior.[32][33]
On April 3, 2015, Microsoft announced that starting withWindows 10, it would comply with the specification and no longer automatically enable Do Not Track as part of the operating system's "Express" default settings, but that the company will "provide customers with clear information on how to turn this feature on in the browser settings should they wish to do so".[34]
Very few advertising companies actually supported DNT, due to a lack of regulatory or voluntary requirements for its use,[35] and unclear standards over how websites should respond to the header. Websites that honor DNT requests includeMedium andPinterest.[36] Despite offering the option in its Chrome web browser,Google did not implement support for DNT on its websites, and directed users to its online privacy settings and opt-outs for interest-based advertising instead.[37] TheDigital Advertising Alliance,Council of Better Business Bureaus and theData & Marketing Association does not require its members to honor DNT signals.[38]
Use ofad blocking software to block web trackers and advertising has become increasingly common (with users citing both privacy concerns and performance impact as justification), while Apple and Mozilla began to add privacy enhancements (such as "tracking protection") to their browsers, that are designed to reduce undue cross-site tracking. In addition, laws such as the European Union'sGeneral Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) have imposed restrictions on how companies are to store and process personal information.[37][3]
Princeton University associate professor of computer scienceJonathan Mayer, who was a member of the W3C's working group for DNT, argued that the concept is a "failed experiment".[37]