The FTC Privacy Report, "Do Not Track" Options, and Web Analytics

As in many things having to do with the Internet, there’s a predilection to complicate rather than simplify, exaggerate rather than plainly-speak and obfuscate rather than be transparent…and the current privacy solutions being offered by the Web browser triumvirate — Microsoft, Mozilla and Google — are no exception.

Sure, the sole object of the exercise is not consumer choice; it's to balance choice with pacifying/mollifying/currying favor with the FTC and providing advertisers with the data and technical framework they need to make Internet advertising a high value marketing channel.

So, with all of this as a back drop, my colleague, Breen Baker, and I decided to take a closer look at these options from both the perspective of consumer privacy and web analytics:

1. Mozilla (Firefox)

In its current beta release of Firefox 4, Mozilla is extending its current Tool settings to allow users to indicate whether they want to be tracked or not by the site they are visiting. Once this is enabled, the opt-out is communicated in a new header to the web server.

This information could be passed in a JavaScript variable and tell the site to serve the cookie; it could theoretically also be communicated to a third party server used by the domain, such as those that are used for handling site registration. The big drawback here is that the header is only acting as the messenger; in effect this is really only half way to a complete solution.

Privacy Grade: D

This solution offers a persistent, flexible approach, but is years away from becoming useful. As it currently is designed the way this works from a user perspective is very similar to how you’d currently opt out. It is more persistent than cookie solutions because it provides for permanent storage of the user preferences. The down side is that the details of transferring user preferences and configuring systems to respond are not nearly close to being worked out.

Analytics Grade: B

We think it will be too much effort for most users to go through the trouble of dealing with their opt-out preferences; just as it is now. If users don’t do anything they will be considered opt-in.

2. Google (Chrome)

Google has proposed a new extension to its browser called ‘Keep My Opt-Outs’ which uses a blacklist for online advertisers and direct marketers. The extension provides users with the ability to opt out of being tracked by anyone on their list, which is currently focused on US based online ad companies (Google plans on including the same functionality for European and international companies soon).

As it is currently, all you can do is opt-out of all the companies that are a part of the list; it is an all or nothing option. This is interesting to us because this is similar tactic on how users may also opt-out of being tracked by Google Analytics, an option I reviewed when it was released in June, 2010.

The upside to this new extension is that the setting will persist through multiple browser sessions; the downside is that there is no middle ground. Users will not have the ability to allow certain online advertisers while blocking the rest (although they state that level of granularity will come soon). Additionally, maintenance of this list would be in the hands of Google or some other regulatory or industry group. The conflict of interest opportunities and regulatory challenges that come out of this arrangement will fund a new fleet of yachts purchased by the Washington lawyers and lobbyists feasting on this deal.

Privacy Grade: D

The solution itself is persistent, but is currently incomplete and inflexible. Future enhancements however look promising. Additionally, users will have to seek out the feature and then download a plug in…something that most visitors probably won’t know how to or be comfortable doing. Additionally, you can bet that there will be an increasing number of extensions available with DNT capabilities (there are already a few), further confusing site users and leading many to not bother using these settings at all.

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Tags: analytics, browser wars, chrome, firefox, google, internet explorer, microsoft, mozilla, privacy, web analytics

As in many things having to do with the Internet, there’s a predilection to complicate rather than simplify, exaggerate rather than plainly-speak and obfuscate rather than be transparent…and the current privacy solutions being offered by the Web browser triumvirate -- Microsoft, Mozilla and Google -- are no exception.