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Rewrite privacy considerations on fingerprinting in start_url (#1114)
* Rewrite privacy considerations on fingerprinting in start_url. There is a "MUST NOT" requirement for developers about putting user data in the start_url. This is not enforceable, so rewriting the paragraph: 1. Removed this requirement for developers. 2. Added a non-normative note that tells developers it would be irresponsible to do this (but acknowledging that we can't practically prevent it). 3. Added a MAY requirement for user agents to offer to uninstall apps associated with an origin when clearing site data. * Change "UUID" to "identifier" Co-authored-by: Marcos Cáceres <[email protected]> * Reword note to developers. Co-authored-by: Marcos Cáceres <[email protected]> * Add title to note box. Co-authored-by: Marcos Cáceres <[email protected]> --------- Co-authored-by: Marcos Cáceres <[email protected]>
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@@ -817,18 +817,29 @@ <h3>
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This can be useful for analytics and possibly other customizations.
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However, it is also conceivable that developers could encode
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strings into the start_url that uniquely identify the user (e.g., a
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server assigned <abbr>UUID</abbr>). This is fingerprinting/privacy
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sensitive information that the user might not be aware of.
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server-assigned identifier, such as `"?user=123"`,
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`"/user/123/"`, or `"https://user123.foo.bar"`). This is
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fingerprinting/privacy sensitive information that the user might
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not be aware of.
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</p>
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<p class="note" title="Don't add identifiers to start URLs">
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It is bad practice for a developer to use the [=start URL=]
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to include information that uniquely identifies a user, as it would
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represent a fingerprint that is not cleared when the user clears
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site data. However, nothing in this specification can practically
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prevent developers from doing this.
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</p>
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<p>
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Given the above, it is RECOMMENDED that, upon installation, or any
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time thereafter, a user agent allows the user to inspect and, if
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necessary, modify the [=start URL=] of an application.
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</p>
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<p>
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Additionally, developers MUST NOT use the [=manifest/start URL=] to include
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information that uniquely identifies a user (e.g., "?user=123" or
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"/user/123/", or "https://user123.foo.bar").
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A user agent MAY offer other protections against this form of
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fingerprinting. For example, if a user clears data from an origin,
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the user agent MAY offer to uninstall applications that are
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[=manifest/within scope=] of that origin, thus removing the
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potential fingerprint from the application's start URL.
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</p>
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</section>
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</section>

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