Glossary · Analytics & web
Global Privacy Control (GPC)
Global Privacy Control is a browser-sent HTTP signal (Sec-GPC: 1) expressing a user’s opt-out of sale and sharing of personal data — legally binding in California and other US states, unlike Do Not Track.
GPC works mechanically much like Do Not Track: a header attached to outgoing requests, plus a matching JavaScript property (navigator.globalPrivacyControl) sites can read. The difference is legal weight. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the CPRA) and similar laws in states such as Colorado and Connecticut, a business receiving a GPC signal must treat it as a valid opt-out request from that browser, with real enforcement behind it — which is what gave adoption a reason to happen where DNT never did.
For sites that sell or share personal data with third parties for advertising, honoring GPC means suppressing that sharing for the signaling visitor. For sites that never sell or share personal data to begin with, GPC changes nothing to honor, because there is no matching activity to opt out of.
Ciphera Pulse does not sell, share, or use visitor data for advertising, so a GPC signal changes nothing about how Pulse behaves — there is no data-sharing pathway for it to disable.