Privacy finding
The opt-out link was used and the same parties still receive an identifier
Privacy Error Severity: High
Part of the audit Privacy claims on the page that the page itself disproves. Finding id: privacy.optOutLinkNoEffect.
What it costs you
The site offers a way out and the visitor who takes it is tracked as before.
What to do
Make the link switch off every tool it is said to cover, or say next to the link which tools it covers.
What it checks
- Opt-out link that does nothing
How to fix it
Connect the link to the tools it should stop
- Find what the opt-out link does: sets a cookie, calls a vendor's opt-out function, or opens the consent tool.
- Check that the code that loads [host] reads that choice before it runs.
- If the link covers one tool only, say so in its text and offer the consent tool for the rest.
How to check: Use the link in a private window and reload: the network panel shows no request with an identifier to [host]. Then run the scripted visit again.
A real case
Google told users of Apple's Safari browser that it would not place tracking cookies or show them targeted ads, and did so anyway. In 2012 it paid a 22.5 million dollar civil penalty to the US Federal Trade Commission.
How to verify by hand
A person: which tools the link is meant to cover.
What this relies on
The opt-out link is meant to stop the tracking the site does.