DNT / GPC Signal Check
See whether you are sending Do Not Track or GPC — and why only one of them matters.
How this test works
Two headers are read: the long-standing Do Not Track value, and Global Privacy Control. They are constantly described as the same thing and are not. Do Not Track was a polite request with no legal backing, the advertising industry collectively declined to honour it, and both Safari and Firefox have removed the setting — Safari specifically because sending an uncommon header made users easier to identify rather than harder. Global Privacy Control is different in the only way that matters: California's privacy legislation and several other state laws treat it as a valid opt-out of sale and sharing, so businesses covered by them are legally required to act on it.
What the results mean
- Global Privacy Control
- A legally recognised opt-out under several US state privacy laws. The one worth enabling.
- Do Not Track
- A request with no legal weight, ignored in practice, removed from Safari and Firefox.
- Not exposed
- The browser does not implement the signal at all, which is now normal for DNT.
- Which one matters
- GPC. The distinction is legal force, not politeness.
Common problems and fixes
- I have Do Not Track on and I am still tracked
- That is the expected outcome. DNT was never binding and the industry declined to honour it. Enable GPC instead where your browser supports it.
- My browser has no Do Not Track setting
- Safari and Firefox removed it deliberately. Its absence is not a fault.
- How do I turn on GPC?
- Firefox and Brave support it natively in privacy settings. Chrome needs an extension, since it has no built-in control.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between DNT and GPC?
Legal force. Do Not Track is a request nobody is obliged to honour and nobody does. Global Privacy Control is a recognised opt-out under California and several other state privacy laws, which covered businesses must act on.
Why did browsers remove Do Not Track?
Because it did not work and it made users more identifiable. Relatively few people enabled it, so sending the header narrowed the population you belonged to while achieving nothing.
Does GPC work outside the United States?
It carries no legal weight elsewhere. Some sites honour it voluntarily, but outside the jurisdictions that recognise it there is no obligation.