Yahoo Turns Back On Do Not Track Requests, Figures 'Why Bother?'
Yahoo is proud as a peacock to point out that it was an early adopter of Do Not Track, but at the same time, the company isn't willing to let that little tidbit prevent it from suddenly abandoning the privacy initiative by ignoring DNT requests. In case you're wondering why Yahoo changed its mind, the company's excuse boils down to, 'Meh, why bother?' We're paraphrasing, of course.
"As of today, web browser Do Not Track settings will no longer be enabled on Yahoo. As the first major tech company to implement Do Not Track, we've been at the heart of conversations surrounding how to develop the most user-friendly standard. However, we have yet to see a single standard emerge that is effective, easy to use and has been adopted by the broad tech industry," Yahoo stated in a blog post.
"As of today, web browser Do Not Track settings will no longer be enabled on Yahoo. As the first major tech company to implement Do Not Track, we've been at the heart of conversations surrounding how to develop the most user-friendly standard. However, we have yet to see a single standard emerge that is effective, easy to use and has been adopted by the broad tech industry," Yahoo stated in a blog post.
The embedded video above pretty much sums up our reaction to Yahoo's explanation, though to be fair, major websites like Facebook and Google also ignore DNT requests.
DNT is an option found in all the major browsers. When enabled, the browser notifies websites that the user doesn't want his/her activities tracked. It's then up to the individual websites whether to honor or ignore such requests, and as of this point going forward, Yahoo has chosen the latter.
In the same blog post, Yahoo points out that users can still manage their privacy on its website by using a variety of tools available to them in the Yahoo Privacy Center.
"The privacy of our users is and will continue to be a top priority for us," Yahoo added.
DNT is an option found in all the major browsers. When enabled, the browser notifies websites that the user doesn't want his/her activities tracked. It's then up to the individual websites whether to honor or ignore such requests, and as of this point going forward, Yahoo has chosen the latter.
In the same blog post, Yahoo points out that users can still manage their privacy on its website by using a variety of tools available to them in the Yahoo Privacy Center.
"The privacy of our users is and will continue to be a top priority for us," Yahoo added.
