Microsoft to add privacy features to IE8

Microsoft has announced new privacy features for IE8. Announced on Monday the new features are designed to make it easier for users to delete and control their web browsing history.

One of the new features includes a new In Private Browsing window. When the window is closed IE8 does not store any cookies, passwords, addresses, files or pretty much anything other details of your browsing session.

Another new feature aims to address a shortcoming in the way the current version of IE lets people delete their browsing history. In IE7 and previous version when a user deletes their browsing history, they also get rid of cookies that are used to save preferences tied to Web sites that they might visit often.

With IE8, users can delete their browsing history but still have the history of frequently visited sites. The implementation for this could be a bit akward for users at first, but once the frequently visited sites are added to their favourites list they will be saved when the browsing history is deleted.
Microsoft’s new features also help users have better control over the information shared between themselves and third parties. Often companies store our details without us even knowing and can supply content to multiple sites. The new IE8 feature “InPrivate Blocking” will block providers that have stored information about a user on more than 10 sites. Users can also choose to allow or block which ever content they want.

Microsoft is expected to release another beta of IE8 this month and release the final code before the end of this year.