[leejw00t354]

Personally I question whether Microsoft's main reason for enabling DNT is to protect their user's privacy.

If Microsoft can look like the good guys while sticking a knife in Google's back, preventing them tracking users and targeting ads, then they might as well go for it.

IE on it's own won't do much damage but other browsers will be under pressure now to also add DNT, after all, they don't want their users to think they're privacy online is safer in IE's hands.

If all browsers slowly make this move Google could be affected quite badly. And that is the logic I think Microsoft is using here.

[pilif]

The problem is that the spec of the DNT header says that the DNT header can only be sent in response to a conscious decision on the users part. By turning this on by default, the only thing MS accomplishes is that DNT will likely never have an effect for IE10 users.

Which could also be exactly what they wanted: Get the good press for enabling the header by default while ensuring that they and everybody else will be able to track IE10 users normally, regardless of the setting being enabled or not.

[smackfu]

Of course, the spec was only changed after Microsoft announced it would be turned on by default.

[leejw00t354]

Maybe but I hope Google would take the higher moral ground and assume the user has consciously decided to enable it as they have no way to tell otherwise.

It would look a little bad if Google just straight up ignored the DNT header on IE10.

[ralfn]

This would singlehandedly kill 10-20% of Google's profits. Microsoft is playing a smart game, now that they have accepted that they cant beat Google in search/web-ads.

[mythz]

Right, because following Microsoft's defaults always leads to the high moral ground...

Please, Microsoft is doing this for the same reason its pouring billions in competing with Bing - so it can strangle their competitors revenue streams.

[AJ007]

I don't know who at MS thinks this is a smart idea. If DNT gains widespread use, it will pretty much hand the entire US display ad market over to Google.

In terms of revenue per impression, revenue/behavioral tends to beat out contextual. After contextual you've got site targeting and run of network, in that order. Google is the only one that does a really good job on contextual, that I've seen.

As of last month IE market share is now down to 16.4% (w3schools.) What IE does won't be so important because soon no one will be using it anyways.

[cooldeal]

I wouldn't be too concerned about Google's profits personally. Look at how they got around iOS Safari's blocking of third party cookies(and are paying a fine for it). They'll find some way to do it. Also, DNT does not apply when the user is logged in.