Microsoft has claimed that users of Windows 8 will now have the option to change the default setting for the ‘Do Not Track’ privacy feature in Internet Explorer 10 when they first run the new operating system.
DNT signals whether a user wants online advertisers and websites to track his or her movements. All five major browsers, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, and Safari can send a DNT signal.
“DNT will be enabled in the ‘Express Settings’ portion of the Windows 8 set-up experience,” Brendon Lynch, Microsoft’s chief privacy officer, stated. “There, customers will also be given a ‘Customize’ option, allowing them to easily switch DNT off if they’d like.”
Windows 8 will offer users alternatives when they first run the software. The Express option accepts the defaults Microsoft has set, including DNT, and is assumed if the user does nothing but proceed with the setup. Customize lets users modify the default settings before running Windows 8 for the first time. “By using the Customize approach, users will be able to independently turn on and off a number of settings, including the setting for the DNT signal,” Lynch promised. When the user allows Express to complete the Windows 8 setup, they will see what Lynch called a “prominent notice” that tells them IE10 will have DNT switched on.
“Microsoft keeps Do Not Track by default in Win[dows] 8 and IE10, but makes it a first-run option. Hard to argue with that,” said Jonathan Mayer.