User privacy has again become the hot topic of discussion. On March 1, 2012 Google has updated its privacy policy. Google claims that it is for benefit of the end user however few people have different opinion on this.
Mozilla is now trying to develop an easy 'Do Not Track' setting into an open-source mobile operating system through its Boot to Gecko project. Through this feature a mobile user will be able to tell supporting websites that a user doesn't want to be tracked by third parties such as advertisers, marketing firms etc.
Mozilla is developing this mobile operating system from ground up. This Linux based OS is aimed to bring comparatively rigorous privacy standards of the World Wide Web to mobile and tablets. In mobile world security is generally an afterthought as single silo owner controls security through review and approval of apps. But that's not the case with Web. In Web, there is no central controlling authority hence privacy and security has to be built into very basic architecture of the OS from the start.
Unfortunately, Mozilla OS project can't do more than broadcasting user preferences with regard to being tracked. There is no guarantee that apps that user accesses and sites that he visits will honor settings request for privacy as it is a voluntary program.
We can only hope to see some user privacy and security friendly apps and websites that have provision for respecting the privacy settings set by an OS. Mozilla has started this trend with its Boot to Gecko project but I am sure that other vendors will also follow the suite in near future.
