Apache Web servers will ignore IE10's 'Do Not Track' settings

There's already been a fair bit of controversy over Microsoft's decision to make the Do Not Track (DNT) setting turned on by default in Internet Explorer 10, and recently the brouhaha got even louder. Specifically, in a move that came to light last week, developers of the widely used Apache Web server application have added a patch to their software that ignores the DNT header altogether when it is sent by Microsoft's forthcoming IE10 browser. The only reason DNT exists is to express a non-default option, explained the patch's author, Roy Fielding, an Adobe employee who is also cofounder of Apache and a contributor to the DNT specification. It does not protect anyone's privacy unless the recipients believe it was set by a real human being, with a real preference for privacy over personalization.