Microsoft updates its Do Not Track (DNT) policy says DNT wont be enabled by default

Do Not Track (DNT) will not be enabled by default on Windows 10 operating system and Spartan browser – Microsoft

Microsoft today announced that it has changed its Do Not Track (DNT) policies.  Earlier with Internet Explorer 10 and 11 Microsoft had enabled the DNT features by default so that the user behaviour could not be tracked. Now in an apparent U turn to its policy Microsoft announced that DNT will not be enabled by default and users will have a option of opting in or out of the same.

Microsoft made this announcement on its blog post today stating,

“As industry standards evolve, how we implement those standards evolve as well. So to reflect the current requirements of the privacy standard for tracking preferences, Microsoft is changing how Do Not Track (DNT) is implemented in future versions of our browsers: We will no longer enable it as the default state in Windows Express Settings.”

It said that the reasons for not enabling DNT is that based on World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) latest draft proposals which say that,

Key to that notion of expression is that the signal sent MUST reflect the user’s preference, not the choice of some vendor, institution, site, or network-imposed mechanism outside the user’s control; this applies equally to both the general preference and exceptions. The basic principle is that a tracking preference expression is only transmitted when it reflects a deliberate choice by the user. In the absence of user choice, there is no tracking preference expressed. (Emphasis added.)

Taking the above draft proposals in cogniance Microsoft wont enable DNT by default state in Windows Express Settings in future releases however it will provide users with clear cut information about how to enable it, should they want it enabled.  The blog also stated that the DNT would be disabled by default in PCs are set up for first time and in PCs which upgrade from old OS to the new Windows 10 OS or new browser.

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