DoNotTrackMe

DoNotTrackMe, abbreviated as DNTMe,[1] and formerly known as Do Not Track Plus (DNT+), was a free-of-charge browser add-on developed by Abine, a privacy company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts that was BBB accredited (the accreditation was revoked by BBB on 22 January 2015).[2] DNTMe was first released, for Firefox, in March 2011.[3]

DoNotTrackMe was available in versions for the Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Internet Explorer browsers.[1] In October 2013 Abine said that they could not develop DNTMe for smartphones and tablets due to technology limitations, but were working on other mobile products.[1] Version 34.3.1263 was current as of October 2014.

The purpose of the add-on is to stop many companies (Abine claims the number is over 600) from tracking users across the Internet. It was favourably reviewed by Business Insider[4] and CNET.[5] DoNotTrackMe stops these companies by blocking Internet trackers, which are defined by Abine as "a request that a webpage tries to make your browser perform that will share information intended to record, profile, or share your online activity."[6] These trackers are put in place by companies like Facebook and Google Analytics to track Internet users, and tracking provides benefits for the companies, such as better tailoring of advertisements to users.

Articles on DoNotTrackMe were published in PC Magazine, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, and CNN.[7] As of February 2013 the company claimed 1,500,000 downloads.[8]

An associated add-on, MaskMe, provides deletable masked email addresses without charge, and masked telephone numbers for a subscription charge. These masked contact details enable an organisation to contact a user by redirecting communications, without revealing the actual destination.[1] Masked credit cards are available, as of October 2014 to holders of US credit cards only, for a user-specified amount and using a specified Abine billing address.

As of November 2014, Abine has announced Blur which is planned to replace their DoNotTrackMe and MaskMe services. [9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Abine Support, DNTMe and MaskMe Frequently Asked Questions". Abine, Inc. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  2. ↑ "BBB BUSINESS REVIEW". Better Business Bureau. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  3. ↑ {{cite web|last=Kirk|first=Jeremy|title=Abine Releases Do-not-track Browser Add-on|url=http://www.pcworld.com/article/222182/article.html|publisher=IDG Consumer & SMB|accessdate=16 February 2013}}
  4. ↑ Felix, Samantha. "This Software Let's You Count The Advertisers Tracking Your Web Activity". Business Insider. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Rosenblatt, Seth. "Do Not Track Plus add-on stops the tracking paparazzi". CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  6. ↑ Felix, Samantha. "This Is How Facebook Is Tracking Your Internet Activity". Business Insider. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Stop companies from tracking you". Abine, Inc. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  8. ↑ Bhatti, Jay. "Online Privacy Start-up Abine.com crosses 1.5 million downloads of its Do Not Track product.". Business Insider. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Abine Blog announces Blur." Abine, Inc. Retrieved 30 November 2014.

External links


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