Privacy Group Warns of 'Web Bugs'

Sites might not disclose use of invisible tracking devices, which are similar to cookies.

Are Consumers Concerned?

Richard Smith, chief technology officer at the Privacy Foundation, says he has tracked the use of Web bugs since last fall and sees them becoming more prevalent on the Internet--with Web sites often using them in concert with cookies, he adds.

Alan Alper, an electronic-commerce analyst at Gomez Advisors in Lincoln, Massachusetts, says he's not familiar with Web bugs but adds that it's a good idea for companies and online advertising firms to be up front about the use of such tracking devices.

Web sites should "disclose what [their] intentions are" and give users a chance to specify that they not be tracked by the bugs, Alper says.

Harry Wolhandler, an analyst at ActivMedia Research in Peterborough, New Hampshire, says he also supports disclosures about the use of tracking devices. But he notes that, in general, consumers don't seem to worry about the subject as much as privacy groups do.

Most online shoppers don't even read the privacy policies outlined on Web sites, Wohlhandler says. And cookies and other online tracking devices can help companies deliver more personalized content and shopping choices for Web site users, he adds.