Browsers To Offer Official Behavioral Targeting Blocking

Yesterday, Google and Firefox announced new tools to block behavioral targeting across the web.

Behavioral targeting are a form of ads that use your online behavior to target specific ads to you, as you browse the web. Google calls these interest based advertising but most of the web calls them behavioral targeting.

Google released a new Chrome extension named Keep My Opt-Outs. The extension helps block some of the personalized advertising and related data tracking performed by companies. I should note, Google has an older Chrome extension named IAB Opt Out that blocked Google’s interest based ads. This new extension works more broadly.

Firefox said they are working on a solution for a new version of Firefox. Alex Fowler from Firefox said:

As the first of many steps, we are proposing a feature that allows users to set a browser preference that will broadcast their desire to opt-out of third party, advertising-based tracking by transmitting a Do Not Track HTTP header with every click or page view in Firefox. When the feature is enabled and users turn it on, web sites will be told by Firefox that a user would like to opt-out of OBA. We believe the header-based approach has the potential to be better for the web in the long run because it is a clearer and more universal opt-out mechanism than cookies or blacklists.

As I said at the Search Engine Roundtable, I suspect adoption of such extensions or turning on blocking will be used at a very very limited basis. So advertisers and publishers really do not need to worry about reduced advertising or marketing. But if you are a person who is worried about this, you now have some tools to help protect your privacy.

Related Stories:

• Google Gets Into Behavioral Targeting, Launches “Interest-Based …
• How Many Google Privacy Policies Are You Violating?
• Yahoo Introduces “Ad Interest Manager”: Allows Opt-In And Out Of …
• Privacy Concerns, Online Ad Targeting On Apparent Collision Course
• Behavioral Targeting Is Easier Than You Think
• How Microsoft’s Behavioral Targeting Works
• Consumer Groups Trying To Preempt Behavioral Targeting For Mobile Ads

About The Author

Barry Schwartz

Barry Schwartz a Contributing Editor to Search Engine Land and a member of the programming team for SMX events. He owns RustyBrick, a NY based web consulting firm. He also runs Search Engine Roundtable, a popular search blog on very advanced SEM topics. Barry's personal blog is named Cartoon Barry and he can be followed on Twitter here.