Category Archives: Usability

Will behavioral icons matter on mobile?

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Jim Brock

Last week Mozilla announced the availability of a Do-Not-Track setting in the mobile version of Firefox. Although not yet honored by more than a few companies, seeing this implementation reminds me of how the mobile paradigm may require a very … Continue reading →

Posted in DAA, Do Not Track, mobile, Pros, Usability | Leave a comment

An integrated approach to tracking privacy (agreeing with TRUSTe)

Posted on May 7, 2011 by Jim Brock

Here’s a statement I wholeheartedly agree with, from a nice primer from Travis Pinnick at TRUSTe: Effective browser-based user privacy controls should meet the following criteria: – Graceful integration of several tracking management solutions, especially tracker blocking mechanisms and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Best Practices, Do Not Track, Pros, Usability | Leave a comment

Microsoft takes the lead on Do Not Track: some questions and implications

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Jim Brock

If you followed privacy developments last week, you might have had the mis-impression that Mozilla is about to build Do Not Track technology into Firefox. In fact, the real news comes this week, as Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer 9 … Continue reading →

Posted in Do Not Track, Microsoft, Pros, TrackerBlock, Usability | 1 Comment

The new opt-out page: a missed opportunity

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Jim Brock

The new centralized industry opt-out page is now in beta on the aboutads.info site, which is a production of the new Digital Advertising Alliance. The new page consolidates opt-outs for the tracking companies participating in the self-regulatory program (at this … Continue reading →

Posted in DAA, Folks, NAI, Pros, Usability | Leave a comment

What if Apple designed the new privacy notices?

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Jim Brock

If Steve Jobs was the Privacy Czar, maybe the new ad notices would look something like this (click to enlarge): Unlike current approaches in testing, the call to action is right on top. Instead of the choices being another click away, … Continue reading →

Posted in Pros, Usability | 5 Comments

The incredible vanishing icon

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Jim Brock

If you’re following the roll-out of the new ad-industry push to provide greater disclosure for ad targeting, you’ve probably noticed this icon starting to appear in or around ads you see online. Under the new rules, an icon like this … Continue reading →

Posted in Folks, Icon, Pros, Usability | 1 Comment

TrackerBlock: Simple, Effective, Transparent

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Jim Brock

This week we released TrackerBlock for Firefox, which is the easiest and most effective tool to control online tracking. For the first time, users have complete visibility and control over the tracking company universe, including detailed policy and oversight information … Continue reading →

Posted in Folks, Pros, TrackerBlock, Usability | Leave a comment

Keep it simple: Opt-out cookies should always overwrite tracking cookies

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Jim Brock

The renewed notice-and-choice framework being rolled out for behavioral advertising has an important shortcoming:  Opt-out cookies only serve to turn off the delivery of behaviorally targeted ads, they don’t promise to turn off data collection in the first place. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Do Not Track, Opt Out Cookies, Pros, Usability | 4 Comments

No fear of Google (Analytics)

Posted on October 2, 2010 by Jim Brock

I just revised the PrivacyChoice privacy policy to reflect that we will be using Google Analytics to understand our users better and build a better service for them. Since this involves providing a Google service with access to PrivacyChoice user … Continue reading →

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The Privacy Fanatic reviews PrivacyChoice (Network World)

Posted on September 23, 2010 by Jim Brock

In the words of Ms. Smith, the Privacy and Security Fanatic at Network World (pictured anonymously at left): If you care about your privacy, it doesn’t mean you have to opt-out of being tracked. You can decide if and how … Continue reading →

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