[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #46986: DNT Parameter automatically for Vimeo oEmbed requests

[WordPress Trac]

#46986: DNT Parameter automatically for Vimeo oEmbed requests
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 Reporter:  djc71889                             |       Owner:  garrett-
                                                 |  eclipse
     Type:  defect (bug)                         |      Status:  accepted
 Priority:  normal                               |   Milestone:  Future
                                                 |  Release
Component:  Embeds                               |     Version:  4.9
 Severity:  major                                |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  has-patch needs-dev-note has-unit-   |     Focuses:  privacy
  tests 2nd-opinion                              |
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Comment (by adakaleh):

 Replying to [comment:26 johnbillion]:
 > Can someone else confirm this?

 How to confirm: open a video embed without DNT
 ([https://player.vimeo.com/video/316146890 example]), open the browser's
 dev tools and go to Storage (Firefox) or Application -> Storage (Chrome).
 The `vuid` cookie is set before you press play and `sync_active` (in local
 storage) is set after.

 This is the script that generates the `vuid` cookie:
 https://f.vimeocdn.com/js_opt/modules/utils/vuid.min.js
 It is minified, but quite readable if pretty-printed. Note that it
 explicitly sets the [https://developer.mozilla.org/en-
 US/docs/Web/HTTP/Headers/Set-Cookie/SameSite SameSite] attribute to
 "None", so even though browsers are changing the default to "Lax", Vimeo
 will still be able to use this cookie from a third party context.

 Replying to [comment:27 garconis]:
 > it's just a bad user experience

 The problem is that people don't ''experience'' tracking. It's generally
 done to them without their knowledge or (informed) consent.  To make it
 more concrete: if a Vimeo employee walked in and took notes whenever you
 opened a page with embedded video, you would probably consider that a
 worse experience than having to pause a video before playing a different
 one.

 Replying to [comment:27 garconis]:
 > and unexpected

 This is based on user preference. I actually think most people (with or
 without accessibility problems) expect to be able to play multiple videos
 simultaneously - for instance, to play music in the background while
 focusing on another video. Without DNT, Vimeo only allows one video to
 play at a time, even in separate tabs. This type of behavior can be
 [https://forums.tomsguide.com/threads/youtube-will-only-play-one-video-
 at-a-time.174678/ frustrating]
 [https://support.google.com/youtube/thread/12763689 for users]. YouTube
 doesn't have this, and since YouTube embeds are far more widespread, they
 drive most users' expectations.

 Plus there's the issue of inconsistent behavior when embeds from multiple
 providers are mixed within a page.

 This would, however, be a nice optional feature if it could be done
 consistently and without tracking, which is what browsers and
 [https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/smart-
 mute/apadglapdamclpaedknbefnbcajfebgh browser extensions] are in a
 position to do.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/46986#comment:28>
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