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Scroll to bottom of article for links to "opt-out cookies"

 

 

 

 

Consumer Tips: How to Opt-Out of Cookies That Track You

Pam Dixon

Updated April 26, 2005

Original publication date: September 1, 2004

You may have heard about computer cookies before. They're teeny files that get deposited onto your computer's hard drive as you browse the Web. What you may not have heard is that not all cookies are equal.

Some cookies are fairly harmless. These cookies tend to expire quickly and simply let you use a Web site more easily. But not all cookies are innocent. Some cookies, like tracking cookies, can actually harm you by collecting a great deal of information about what Web sites you visit and what you look at and do at those Web sites.

It's become important to know the difference between the harmless and harmful cookies these days. Otherwise, if you just accept every cookie that comes your way, your Web browsing habits can be profiled and tracked and even merged with your "offline" purchasing habits. This can unfortunately tell companies when you are looking for work, what kind of work you do, when you have applied to what jobs, and what other Web sites you have been looking at. The tracking kinds of cookies can even tell companies approximately what your income level is, what diseases you or a relative may have, what size jeans you buy, and more.

Consumer Profiling and Tracking Cookies

The unhealthy kinds of cookies that track Web browsing habits are called "profiling cookies," "persistent cookies," "long term tracking cookies," or "third party tracking cookies." Sometimes they are called "third party cookies" or simply "tracking cookies." No matter what they are called, these kinds of cookies are typically sent to your computer by advertising or marketing companies, and they can last for decades.

The reason these cookies can create a long history of your Web browsing and job searching activities is because these kinds of cookies allow companies to track your movements across many different Web sites. This can be a real problem over time.

For example, if you are looking for a job on Monster.com (which as of this writing deposits advertising.com cookies, among others) and then you go look at a health Web site such as MD.com, then a company called Advertising.com knows you have been to both places. That's because Advertising.com puts a tracking cookie, or a file, on your computer to report back to them whenever you visit one of the sites in their advertising network, sometimes even saying what pages or specific jobs you looked at. Some sites even have cookies on areas where you fill out forms or post a resume, so those companies know when you have posted a resume and may know what kind of information you are giving out online.

What do the marketing companies actually learn from tracking cookies? It may surprise you. If you have filled out forms online with your real name and contact information, or have clicked on banners then purchased an item, or if you have filled out sweepstakes or contests forms, then it is quite possible that major online advertisers know your name and have associated it with your Internet Protocol, or IP address and other information.

The MediaPlex cookie currently deposited to visitors browsing Monster.com, for example, contains a statement that it "stores identifiable information without any user consent." This statement can be viewed using the cookie management feature of the Netscape 7 browser.

Companies like MediaPlex and others that hold this profiling information of your Web browsing habits can then sell or merge that information with many other sources of information, such as magazine or catalog subscription lists. Even though cookies seem quite innocent, allowing the tracking types of cookies to follow you around as you surf the Web is a lot like building a see-through house to live in, click by click.

The good news is that you can manage these persistent tracking cookies to a large degree. To do this, you need to know how to say no to the third party tracking cookies while still allowing yourself to say yes to the harmless cookies. There are several ways to do this.  Two of the best ways are to download "opt-out cookies," and to use your browser's cookie management tools to manage your cookies.

About Opt-Out Cookies (or, cookies that say no)

"Opt-out cookies" are files that get put on your computer just like regular computer cookies. The difference is that opt-out cookies tell the marketing companies that they can't track you anymore. To get the opt out cookies, you go to a marketer's Web site, download their opt out cookie by clicking on a button, and then keep the cookie on your computer. The opt-out cookie tells the marketers to stop tracking you.

Marketing companies make opt out cookies available to you because several years ago the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) became quite concerned about the ways companies were using cookies to profile consumers. (See especially Part II of the FTC report to Congress about consumer profiling with cookies, <http://www.ftc.gov/os/2000/07/onlineprofiling.htm > ) Because of the FTC's concern, the companies doing the profiling created a voluntarily agreement to allow consumers to opt out of being tracked or profiled by the tracking cookies.

There are about a dozen major opt-out cookies that you can download. It is important to download each opt-out cookie, because each cookie will tell each company to stop tracking you. You should say no to tracking cookies whenever possible, so your every move online isn't logged and tracked.

Three Ways to Say No (Opt out)

It is a good idea to use all three methods below to manage your cookies when you browse the Web.

  • Download opt-out cookies. This is a very easy process that usually involves simply clicking on a button. To do this, you go to the marketer's Web site, and click on the "opt out" button. The cookie your computer will get tells the company not to track you anymore. Yes, it is a little bit of extra work to click on the links. But would you rather have someone knowing you applied for a job, sometimes even knowing what companies you have applied to, and then sell that information?
  • Use the cookie management tools in your Web browser. Also, use cookie management tools to be selective in what long-term cookies you accept. In the newest versions of Netscape, you can set your browser to accept only session cookies, or to turn all cookies into session cookies. Session cookies are generally harmless. For Macintosh Safari users, you can tell the browser to only accept cookies from "the site you are navigating to." This means that you will not accept third party tracking cookies. To explore what cookie settings are available to you, look in the "preferences" or "options" section of your browser's menu.
  • View current cookies and delete what you don't need. Most Web browsers allow you to see what cookies you already have stored. You may have thousands of cookies if you are like many Web surfers. Some cookies, such as registration cookies for Web sites you visit frequently, are useful to keep around. But other cookies, like tracking cookies from atdmt.com, doubleclick.net, atwola.com, and others aren't helpful to you. Delete the cookies you don't need, and do a periodic check every couple of months to weed out your cookie folder.

Opt-Out Cookie Links:

To take advantage of opt-out cookies, make sure your Web browser is set to accept all cookies. Then click on each link below and follow the directions you find on each page. After you download the opt-out cookie, which usually involves just clicking on a link that says "opt out," keep the opt-out cookies on your computer. These cookies, created by the advertisers to allow you to say no to tracking, tell these advertisers to stop tracking you. After you click on the links, you can view the opt-out cookies in your computer's cookie folder.

Be aware that some of the language on the opt out pages below can be incredibly confusing. To cut through the clutter, just look for the opt-out link or button, and click it. That will usually do the trick.

NAI opt-out

You can visit the NAI opt out page here and opt out of this tracking: http://www.networkadvertising.org/optout_nonppii.asp.

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Advertising.com

Tracking cookie opt out:

http://www.advertising.com/OptOut2.html

 

AtlasDMT

Tracking cookie opt out:
http://www.atlassolutions.com/opting.aspx?cookValue=optOut

Bluestreak

Tracking cookie opt out:
http://bluestreak.com/privacy.asp

Doubleclick

Tracking cookie opt out:

http://www.privacychoices.org/optout.htm
(NAI member)

Fastclick

Tracking cookie opt-out page:
http://www.fastclick.com/v4/safe_optout.go

IMRWorldwide Nielsen Net Ratings/RedSherrif:

Total optout:

http://www.netratings.com/corp.jsp?section=leg_opt&opt=2

Privacy policy:
http://www.netratings.com/privacy.jsp?section=leg_scs

MediaPlex

MediaPlex does not offer an opt-out cookie at this time.

http://www.adwaresystems.com/privacy/privacy.html

Omniture cookies

The 2O7.net domain is the primary domain Omniture uses to track visitor behavior to both its own web site and that of its customers. Omniture has an opt out policy at this page:
http://www.omniture.com/policy.html
Scroll down to find opt out policy, which will look like this:

Opt-Out Policy:
Omniture offers its visitors and customers a means to choose how we may use information provided. If, at any time after registering for information or ordering Services, you change your mind about receiving information from us or about sharing your information with third parties, send us a request specifying your new choice. Simply send your request to optout@omniture.com or Click Here To Opt-Out Now .

Questionmarket

Tracking cookie opt-out page:
opt out: http://questionmarket.com/site/subnav/optout_from_surveys.php

Tribal Fusion

As of now, TribalFusion does not offer an opt out cookie.
http://www.tribalfusion.com/www/about/privacy.html

ValueClick

Tracking cookie opt out:
http://www.valueclick.com/privacy.html
Scroll to mid page and look for the link that says "Click here to go to Opt Out page."

Zedo.com

Tracking cookie opt out:

http://www.zedo.com/zedo/company/optout.jsp

Scroll to mid page and look for the oval purple button that says "opt out now."