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Comment by username223 | Hacker News Reader

Classic soulless PR-drone reply here:

http://www.turn.com/blog/in-response-to-propublica

"Clearing cookies is not a reliable way for a user to express their desire not to receive tailored advertising,..." Okay, but is it a reliable way for me to express my desire for you not to track me? I assume you ignore the DNT header, and I already block your ads, but still...

"Turn fully supports enabling consumers to express their choice and consent in regards to data use for digital advertising." Choke on a bag of dicks, you sleazy, lying scum.

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>"It is Turn’s policy to always honor the consumer opt-out as enacted through either the Turn website or the NAI or DAA."

What does this actually mean, and how can I do it?

NAI and DAA are industry trade groups; they have cross company opt-out pages via cookies / beaconing

http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/

http://www.aboutads.info/choices/

Their opt out program relies on using 3rd party cookies and only blocks the display of ads (not the collection or other use of the data). Anyone who is doing this should just install an ad blocker.

Oh absolutely; I was just answering the parent's question, not endorsing.

The original research checked the Turn / NAI / DAA opt out. According to Mayer, it does't respawn. This part of Turn's response is a lie.

They claim the opt-out is stored on their servers and associated with the uid (implying that the optout=1 cookie isn't necessary)

Not just missing a cookie. The original post has screenshots of status checkers showing no opt out.

It's convenient for them that their server-side opt-out code cannot be audited. It would have been easier for them to just set an anonymous, client-side opt-out cookie.

A client-side cookie is not sufficient, you'd have to set it in every browser you ever use. Practically speaking it needs to be server-side, but should be (but never would be) opt-in rather than opt-out.

The other option is respecting DNT, but that is never going to happen as a default behaviour for all companies.

So what you're saying is that we need everyone on the planet to install an app that automatically accesses Turn's website every few seconds ... just to be sure that they know we don't want tracking!

;0)

Hi, I see you'd like to start a quest into the dark heart of our corporate bureaucracy to join the other .0001% of customers who aren't having their privacy violated. We respect you. We love you (feel free to share that via social media). Welcome, and good luck.

> Clearing your cookies is not the way to opt-out of tailored advertising, and may in fact be counterproductive if you’ve cleared the cookie that indicates you have opted-out.

I realize the technical reason cookies exist yet this seems wrong to me.

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