Internet Explorer 9 to include privacy opt-in feature

The forthcoming Internet Explorer (IE9) will contain a new “opt-in” control that will prevent users from being unknowingly tracked by websites, Microsoft has revealed.

“Today, consumers share information with more websites than the ones they see in the address bar in their browser,” Dean Hachamovitch, corporate vice president of IE, wrote in a blog post.

“This is inherent in the design of the web and simply how the web works, and it has potentially unintended consequences. As consumers visit one site, many other sites receive information about their activities.”

The newest version of Microsoft's popular web browser, released in beta in September, will contain “tracking protection lists”, which will let customers control what information third-party websites can collect about them, Hachamovitch said.

Customers will be able to create a list of websites that the browser will “call” only if they visit them directly or click on a link that directly takes them there. Users or organisations will be able to share lists.

“You can look at this as a translation of the ‘Do Not Call' list from the telephone to the browser and web,” Hachamovitch wrote.

The official release of IE 9 is slated for early next year.

See original article on scmagazineus.com