Ask HN: Why privacy consent is NOT part of Browser setting?

2•the_arun•12h ago

We visit so many websites everyday and each one of them prompt us to share our privacy setting - which allows them to decide whether they can use our data or not. Why is this not a browser setting that they can read instead of annoying every user?

Incognito windows - you are prompted by the browser & you set once and done.

I'm sure I am missing few things.

Comments

stop50•12h ago

There was such an standard, but it was ignored, because people don't want to be tracked, which is diametral to the targets of companies to get as much data as possible to sell you stuck you never need

streptomycin•11h ago

This doesn't answer the question though. Like okay, everyone ignored "do not track". So the correct response is to make an even more annoying system that can also be ignored just as easily as "do not track"?

And before someone says the new system has a law behind it so it can't be ignored as easily as "do not track"... that is irrelevant to the discussion of "built into browser" vs "each website implements its own custom thing".

dtgm93•12h ago

"do not track" is just that

But everyone ignored it and it just provided additional entropy for identifying you!

Bender•11h ago

Just about any site can use any data you provide them for anything regardless of what permission one gives. Asking them to do or not do something has the same effect as asking a mugger to not mug them. At best one would get a chuckle.

The partial exception would be if one has a mutually binding contract with said company and that company is made painfully aware that one has multiple law firms and infinite resources to go after them. They might adhere to the contract for a while until the company gets big and some new middle management want to take risks to look good for their management which means breaking ones contract behind their back.

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