Is Internet Explorer 10 making a deliberate dig at Google Chrome? The latest announcement by Microsoft is that the private browsing feature “Do Not Track” will be enabled by default
Microsoft’s decision to enable protected browsing by default has been met with positive reception
Microsoft announced last week that Internet Explorer 10, to debut around Windows 8, will enable private browsing by default. In other words, users won’t be tracked unlike other browsers such as Google Chrome.
The service is called Do Not Track, and can be disabled by user. Microsoft said the feature represented its commitment to making browsing by default, and IE 10 is the first browser to enable the feature by default.
The feature also means that Google won’t generate as much ad revenue from IE10 users as, according to Reuters, Google can’t personalize ads so they target a user’s behaviour (like on Facebook, where ads target what your Like and view). No wonder Google doesn’t enable private browsing by default when using Chrome.
Do Consumers Care About Privacy?
Microsoft also said it’s trying to create a better browser than Google Chrome, which at times has been the most popular browser in the world. Microsoft has made big gains with IE9, and has launched ads to push the browser, so IE 10 will continue in that vein.
Microsoft added that while some people will think the change is too much, but said it believes the company is making progress and favors consumers who value privacy over data being gathered. Facebook has increasingly become the focus of criticism as the company is making it harder to protect data. Chrome is currently the only browser to have a Do Not Track feature.
Whether most consumers know about the Do Not Track, or even care about it, is another question entirely. Most of the people reading the news will be enthusiasts in the tech industry, not people who don’t know anything about an iPhone.
Regarding IE 10 itself, the reception from the Consumer Preview and Release Preview has been positive. The browser is, like Metro, debuting a drastically different design compared to IE 9. The browser goes full screen, removing other UI elements. Functions are accessed through the Charms bar on the right-hand side.
The desktop version is largely unchanged though, apart from the flat design instead of Aero. Microsoft has said other developers can develop Metro versions of third-party browsers.