Do Not Track Web Browser Header

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Do Not Track (DNT) is a completely optional HTTP header web browser can, but do not need to, send when they contact web servers and request web pages, images, video files and other elements. Web servers can care about this header or ignore it, check for it or ignore it and what, if anything, happens when the tag is present in a web browser header is completely optional.

Purpose[edit]

People can tell websites that they would like to not be tracked by sending the DNT header along with their web requests.

Practical Effect[edit]

Website operators can, but typically don't, do less logging, request that fewer web browser cookies are set and store less information in the database when a websites visitor sends a DNT header along with the HTTP requests.

Utilizing the DNT tag is entirely voluntary.

This site will not serve any third party advertising scripts if a Do-Not-Track header is sent along with a HTTP request.

Most other sites won't not care, not even a little, if a DNT header is present.

HOWTO Enable Or Disable Do-Not-Track In Common Web Browsers[edit]

Mozilla Firefox supports sending a Do-Not-Track header when it requests a web page but the functionality is not enabled by default. It can be turned on using the about:preferences#privacy page found under Edit ▸ Preferences ▸ Privacy & Security. There you will find the option "Send websites a “Do Not Track” signal that you don’t want to be tracked" half-way down on that page. It should be set to Always instead of the Only when Firefox is set to block known trackers default.

Chromium based browsers have the Do-Not-Track setting hidden under Settings ▸ Privacy and security ▸ More. Flip the switch Send a "Do Not Track" request with your browsing traffic to send a Do-Not-Track request to websites when it requests pages.

Falkon users can enable the Do Not Track headre in Preferences ▸ Privacy ▸ Send Do Not Track headers to servers.

HOWTO Use The DNT Tag In PHP[edit]

You can simply check if 

$_SERVER['HTTP_DNT']

is set to true or not.

File: dnt.php
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <title>Do Not Track Test Page</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>You web browser
<?php
if ( isset($_SERVER['HTTP_DNT'])
        && $_SERVER['HTTP_DNT'] == true ){
        echo '<strong>is</strong>';
}else{
        echo 'is not';
}
?>
sending a Do-Not-Track header with each request.</p>
</body></html>

You can use the above code to test if DNT is enabled in the web browser you are using by visiting linuxreviews.org/dnt.php.


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