August 20th, 2008
IE8 to Get “Private Browsing?”
By Michael Santo
Editor-in-Chief, RealTechNews
Private browsing means browsing the web without leaving “tracks,” such as cookies, history, cache data, etc., etc. This has been popularly called “porn mode.” Only Safari currently supports this feature; it was pulled from Firefox 3 (there is, however, an add-on called Stealther some use).
Some hints around the web seem to point IE8 containing such a “mode.” For one, a June 24, 2008 IE blog post on “IE8 and Trustworthy browsing” says (emphasis mine):
That said, there’s more to online privacy than cookies, as cookies are only one implementation of content that can disclose information to websites. In some discussions, people have also described IE7’s Phishing Filter as a privacy feature because it helps protect users from sharing information. The larger challenge here is notifying users clearly about what sites they’re disclosing information to and enabling them to control that disclosure if they choose. As we talk more about privacy, we will broaden the discussion to include additional protections from sharing information that the browser can offer users.
More evidence, , IStartedSomething noticed that Microsoft filed two trademarks on July 30th. They were for:
CLEARTRACKS
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: computer programs for accessing and using the Internet and the world wide web; and computer programs for deleting search history after accessing websites
INPRIVATE
IC 009. US 021 023 026 036 038. G & S: computer programs for accessing and using the Internet and the world wide web; computer programs for disabling the history and file caching features of a web browser; and computer software for notifying a user of a web browser when others are tracking web use and for controlling the information others can access about such use
Although “private browsing” didn’t get into Firefox 3, they do have a “use case” page for it. It states that:
Many people believe that the primary use case for private browsing mode is viewing pornography. While viewing pornography may be a popular use case due to the nature of content on the Web, assuming that this is the only reason that users need private browsing trivializes the overall feature. For instance, users may wish to begin a private browsing session to research a medical condition, or plan a surprise vacation or birthday party for a loved one. Use cases will range from users cheating on their spouse, to users buying engagement rings. Given the breadth of our user base, specific use cases are likely to be extremely varied.
Yes, I guess that “porn mode” nickname does trivialize it. Interesting that they mention “cheating on their spouse.” I guess they ran out of non-controversial use cases after “planning a birthday party.”
Here’s one: watch Forensic Files and see how many people get caught because they don’t delete their browser cache.
OK, OK, all in fun, but seriously, if IE8 gets this, Firefox will be missing a feature IE supports. Dang.
Kevin K. says:
It’s my belief that nothing need be done at the client level at all. Everything being done at the cookie level or “follows whatever link” level can be done on the server without the user’s knowledge. Nothing needs to be stored or retrieved on/from a user’s machine at all.
After all, the only thing the data does is to say user so and so visited, looked at this information, and clicked on this link. Or this user came back and looked at this or that, etc.
If privacy policies generally state that no personally identifiable information is stored, then nothing ever need be left on a client machine. All that can be tracked and stored at the server level and, if they want to target their advertisements, then when you click link A which leads you to product B, the server simply needs to send back the page requested with targeted ads that reference product B and similar stuff. All of that can easily be written to function off the server.
No one would be the wiser.
The sooner they stop the madness the better, porn or no porn.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
degustibus says:
Neither browser has the best privacy feature on an easily accessed button–I’m talking about cookies: on and off. I use Firefox and I’d like a button on the navigation bar or key stroke combo that would turn cookies on or off, but noooo — they want you to dig into the tools menu.
August 21st, 2008 at 6:13 am
John says:
Why doesn’t Crap Cleaner come into the conversation? Doesn’t it do all the clean up any user would need?
August 21st, 2008 at 8:44 am