The Tracking Exception API no longer works in the latest release of Edge, now Microsoft’s primary consumer browser.

I reported this on the Microsoft Edge developer forum 3 weeks ago https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/platform/issues/7834877/ but it has not been responded to. I also raised a support request and sent emails but have hit a brick wall. I include the details below.

I felt the need to report this now because this is the last day of the group charter, unless it gets extended, and the Tracking Compliance and Scope requires user agents support the “user-granted exception mechanism”, see  the second paragraph under Scope https://www.w3.org/2011/tracking-protection/drafts/tracking-compliance.html#scope-and-goals

The bug in the Tracking Exception API in MS Edge.

Although the functions navigator.storeSiteSpecificTrackingException, navigator.storeWebWideTrackingException, navigator.removeSiteSpecificTrackingException and navigator.removeWebWideTrackingException still exist any call to them throws a JavaScript exception “Access is Denied”, and DNT:0 is never sent in the appropriate requests. Calls to navigator.confirmSiteSpecificTrackingException and navigator.removeWebWideTrackingException calls do not throw an exception and always return ‘false’, which is correct, but there is now no way to create a Tracking Exception so the call can never return ‘true’.

This API was supported in Edge from when it was introduced in March 2015. It was working fine the last time I tested it a few weeks ago. If this is a deliberate change I can find no reference to it on the web.

The latest Internet Explorer still supports the API, and it works as it always has since 2013.

There is a web page that exercises the API at https://cookieq.eu/api/test

Mike O'Neill

Technical Director

Baycloud Systems

Oxford Centre for Innovation

New Road

Oxford

OX1 1BY

Tel. 01865 735619

Fax: 01865 261401