Minor Updates to the Do Not Track Header

By Jonathan Mayer on January 27, 2011 at 12:27 pm

We're pleased to announce we're beginning work on an IETF Internet-Draft for the Do Not Track header. We look forward to incorporating broad feedback.

In anticipation of the first version of the Internet-Draft, we're making a few minor updates to the header. The reference implementations at DoNotTrack.Us will be revised shortly.

Dropping "X-"
Since Do Not Track is entering a standardization process, convention dictates dropping the prefix "X-".

Abbreviating "DNT"
In keeping with header naming best practices, and to conserve network resources, we're shortening the name.

Adding a "0" Value
There's an important policy distinction between users who consent to third-party tracking and users who haven't expressed a preference. To clarify this difference, the header now has three states:
"DNT: 1" - The user opts out of third-party tracking.
"DNT: 0" - The user consents to third-party tracking.
[No Header] - The user has not expressed a preference about third-party tracking.

Comments

Aidan Whitehall July 17, 2011 at 1:41 am

Where as Do-Not-Track is comprehensible without prior knowlege or further investigation, DNT is not.
And when another header that abbreviates to "DNT" is required, then we'll end up with two similar abbreviations that are sometimes confused.
Hey, let's abbreviate EVERYTHING, save a few bits of bandwidth and make computing utterly impenetrable.
Yeah, great idea. ("Not!", added for the benefit of Americans.)

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