Privacy & Tech

What is the difference between Global Privacy Control and Do Not Track?

Global Privacy Control (GPC) communicates an opt-out preference linked to specific privacy rights. Do Not Track (DNT) was designed to express a broader preference against tracking.

Aspect	Global Privacy Control	Do Not Track
Main purpose	Communicate an opt-out preference, including stopping the sale or sharing of personal information.	Express a preference not to be tracked.
Technical signal	`Sec-GPC` request header.	`DNT` request header.
Legal recognition	Must be honoured by covered businesses under California’s CCPA requirements.	Did not establish an equivalent, broadly adopted enforcement mechanism.
Technical status	Used for privacy preference signalling.	Deprecated; its specification has been discontinued.

GPC is therefore more than a general request not to be tracked: in jurisdictions where it has legal effect, the signal can communicate a specific privacy opt-out that a business must recognize. Its exact effect still depends on the applicable law and the type of processing involved.

MDN’s DNT documentation explains its discontinued status and points to GPC.

Websites should detect Global Privacy Control specifically rather than treating existing DNT handling as sufficient. Neither signal grants affirmative consent, and the absence of a signal does not mean that a visitor has agreed to tracking.