Apple's Safari browser boasts anti-tracking tool

Apple will include a feature in an upcoming version of its Safari Web browser that will allow consumers to ask websites not to track their online behavior, according to published reports. The tool will reportedly be included in a developer release of the operating system Apple will debut this summer.

Last month, Microsoft Corp.and Mozilla each released updates for their browsers that allow consumers to block websites' ability to track their online behavior. In January, Google released an anti-tracking extension for its Chrome browser.

Earlier this week, two privacy bills were introduced in Congress that would regulate the consumer information that websites can collect, yet neither included a Do Not Track provision. The Do Not Track Me Online Act of 2011, introduced in February by Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), is the only bill introduced in this Congress to call for an anti-tracking mechanism.

Apple's Safari browser had 7% of global browser share in March. Microsoft's Internet Explorer led the industry with 56%, and Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome followed with 22% and 11%, respectively, according to technology consultancy Net Applications.

Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.