DO_NOT_TRACK A standard for respecting user privacy in software

The Problem

Many CLI tools, SDKs, and frameworks collect telemetry data by default. Each one has its own way to opt out:

Tool	Opt-out method
.NET	`DOTNET_CLI_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT=1`
AWS SAM CLI	`SAM_CLI_TELEMETRY=0`
Azure CLI	`AZURE_CORE_COLLECT_TELEMETRY=0`
Gatsby	`GATSBY_TELEMETRY_DISABLED=1`
Go	`go telemetry off`
Google Cloud SDK	`gcloud config set disable_usage_reporting true`
Homebrew	`HOMEBREW_NO_ANALYTICS=1`
Netlify CLI	`netlify --telemetry-disable`
Syncthing	`STNOUPGRADE=1`

You get the idea. There are too many, and they are all different.

A single, standard environment variable that clearly and unambiguously expresses a user's wish to opt out of any of the following:

Ad tracking
Usage reporting, anonymous or not
Automatic update phone-home
Crash reporting
Non-essential-to-functionality requests of any kind to the creator of the software or other tracking services

We just want local software.

export DO_NOT_TRACK=1

Add the line above to your shell configuration file so it applies to all your terminal sessions:

Shell	File	Syntax
Bash	`~/.bashrc`	`export DO_NOT_TRACK=1`
Zsh	`~/.zshrc`	`export DO_NOT_TRACK=1`
Fish	`~/.config/fish/config.fish`	`set -x DO_NOT_TRACK 1`
PowerShell	`$PROFILE`	`$env:DO_NOT_TRACK = "1"`
Windows (CMD)	System Environment Variables	`setx DO_NOT_TRACK 1`

If you develop tools that collect telemetry, analytics, or make non-essential network requests, please check for this variable:

This is an open effort. Contributions, suggestions, and discussions are welcome on GitHub.