What Is “do Not Track” And How To Use It

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Do Not Track is an excellent feature provided by web browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari to restrict websites from monitoring your surfing activities. When you keep this setting enabled in your web browser, it informs the websites, analytics companies, and ad networks not to track your browsing activity.

In other words, if you don’t turn on the DNT setting in your web browser, your online activities will be tracked by websites or companies to know about you so they can show you relevant ads through their marketing campaigns. The tracking data includes browsing history, location history, cookies, and more.

So, if you don’t want to let advertisement companies or websites track you, you can take advantage of the Do Not Track feature. When you enable it in your web browser, an HTTP header is added by the browser to your web traffic so the websites could understand that they don’t have to track you. However, this DNT header indicates three following commands:

You don’t want to be tracked (opt-out).
You want to be tracked (opt-in).
The tracking option has not been set by you. ...
...
You can make sure by reading the privacy policy if any website is violating Do Not Track. However, websites should follow the DNT values.

How to set up Do Not Track in Firefox

If you use Mozilla Firefox on your device, you can set up Do Not Track through the following ways.

Launch the browser on your device and choose Open, located in the top right corner. After that, select Preferences. The alternate way to find Firefox is from the menu bar and then select Preferences.
Go through the Privacy & Security option located on the left side.
Find Browser Privacy and look for an option called Send websites a “Do Not Track” signal that you don’t want to be tracked. You have to enable it.
You can also take advantage of website-specific tracker protection.
How to setup Do Not Track in Google Chrome

If you have Chrome, below are the ways to take benefit of the DNT:

Open Chrome and then hit on the three vertical dots located in the top right corner.
Go to Settings.
Choose Privacy and Security located on the left side.
From the Privacy and Security section, hit the Cookies and other site data from the right-hand side.
Turn on the Send a “Do Not Track” request with your browsing traffic.
Confirm the pop-up message that you see after enabling DNT.
How to setup Do Not Track in Safari

In the Safari web browser, you can use DNT through the below steps.

Choose Safari from the menu bar and then click on Preferences.
Open the Privacy tab.
Tick the check box next to the option called Prevent cross-site tracking.
How to setup Do Not Track in Edge

Microsoft Edge also allows you to restrict tracking through DNT. Below are the required steps.

Launch the browser and hit the three-dot icon from the top right corner.
Choose Settings.
Hit on Privacy and Services located in the left menu.
Now find the option called Send “Do Not Track” requests and turn it on.
Allow the setting by clicking on Send Request from the pop-up.
How to setup Do Not Track in Internet Explorer

Use the Tools menu or tool icon from the top right corner.
Pick Internet Options from the drop-down menu.
Hit the Advanced tab from the top right corner under the pop-up menu.
Under the Settings tab, choose Security.
Tick the checkbox next to Send Do Not Track requests to sites you visit in Internet Explorer.
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