Microsoft to not enable DNT in future versions of its browsers

In a bid to give users more control over their privacy preferences, Microsoft has announced that it would not enable 'Do Not Track' (DNT) feature on future versions of its browsers.

DNT was enabled as a default setting in Windows express settings, until now but Microsoft plans to change as per the latest draft of the standard by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) states that "signal must reflect the user's preference, not the choice of some vendor, institution, site or network-imposed mechanism outside the user's control... Tracking preference expression is only transmitted when it reflects a deliberate choice by the user."

According to the standard, if there was an absence of user choice, there was no tracking preference expressed.

In its blog, Microsoft said in compliance with W3C standards, DNT would not be the default state in its future browsers and it would be providing users with clear information on how to turn the feature on if they desired.

The change would be visible when users set up a new PC for the first time, or when they upgraded their Windows or Internet Explorer.

The feature was implemented by Microsoft a couple of years ago with Internet Explorer 10, and since then efforts had been underway to have a standard in place.

Microsoft had earlier let it be known that their final release of the Internet Explorer 10 web browser software would have "Do Not Track" by default, which had upset advertisers across the board as web ad targeting - based on a user's online activities - was hugely useful to advertisers.

With DNT enabled a signal is sent by the users' web browser, to websites letting them know that the user does not wish to be tracked for such purposes.