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Do Not Track: on or off?

Last checked: 14 Oct 2026

"Send Do Not Track requests" is a browser setting that asks every website you visit not to track you. Websites can ignore it, and Mozilla says many do. A newer setting, Global Privacy Control (GPC), asks websites not to sell or share your data, and some US states require businesses to respect that one.

The short answer

Why sites don't have to honour it

Do Not Track was never agreed as a rule websites must follow. The group that was writing the standard stopped work in 2019, because not enough websites or browsers had taken it up. No browser maker says websites must act on it, and Mozilla says many don't. Mozilla says it can sometimes reduce your privacy, and Apple removed it because having it switched on is one more detail that can help websites recognise your browser (see fingerprinting).

Each browser

Microsoft Edge (Windows and Mac)

Settings and more → Settings → Privacy, search, and services → Privacy → Send "Do Not Track" Requests

Off by default. Microsoft says the requests "let the websites you visit know that you don't want your browsing activity to be tracked", and that websites may still track you. Edge has no GPC setting. Its separate tracking prevention setting, in the same Privacy, search, and services section, has three levels: Basic, Balanced (recommended) and Strict. Microsoft says Strict may stop some websites working as expected.

Firefox

Firefox removed the Do Not Track setting in February 2025 (version 135). Use "Tell websites not to sell or share my data" instead, which sends the newer GPC request. On a computer: Settings → Privacy and security → Additional protections → Tell websites not to sell or share my data

On Android: Settings → Enhanced Tracking Protection → Tell websites not to share & sell data Mozilla says it's already on in private windows on a computer (source) and in private tabs on Android (source).

Safari (Mac, iPhone and iPad)

Apple removed Do Not Track from Safari in March 2019, and Safari has no GPC setting. Instead, Safari limits tracking across websites by default. To check it's on:

On a Mac: Safari → Settings → Privacy → Prevent cross-site tracking

On an iPhone: Settings → Apps → Safari → Prevent Cross-Site Tracking

Apple says it's on by default, and turning it off lets companies track you from one website to another.

Greyed out? If an organisation manages the iPhone, iPad or Mac (a work or school device, for example), it can lock this setting on so you can't change it. We haven't found an Apple source for any other cause.

Brave

Brave says it sends GPC automatically on computers and Android phones. On iPhone and iPad it sends a more limited version that websites have to look for. Brave also has a Do Not Track setting, off by default, but Brave doesn't publish where to find it.

DuckDuckGo browser and extensions

DuckDuckGo says it sends GPC automatically, so there's nothing to do. On its iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac apps, the full request goes only to websites known to respect it; other sites get a more limited version. It has no Do Not Track setting.

Samsung Internet: Unverified

We didn't find a current page from Samsung about a Do Not Track or GPC setting in its Samsung Internet browser.

Does it matter legally?

We haven't found a UK or US law that makes websites act on Do Not Track. California makes some websites say in their privacy policy how they respond to it, but they don't have to obey it. GPC is different: some US states require businesses to respect it, and Colorado only accepts GPC, not Do Not Track. In the UK, you can tell a company directly to stop using your data for marketing. See Global Privacy Control and the right to object.

Sources

This page describes your options and how organisations say they handle requests. It isn't legal advice. See About & sourcing to report a correction.