Global Privacy Control (GPC)

The leading browser-level opt-out signal standard recognized under CCPA/CPRA, with growing adoption among major browsers and regulatory bodies.

Global Privacy Control (GPC) is an open technical specification developed collaboratively by privacy advocates, browser vendors, publishers, and technology companies to give consumers a simple, automated way to exercise their privacy rights. When enabled in a compatible browser or extension, GPC sends a signal to every website a user visits indicating that they do not consent to the sale or sharing of their personal data. The specification was developed in response to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and similar privacy laws that grant consumers the right to opt out of data sales. GPC has gained significant regulatory recognition, most notably being acknowledged by the California Attorney General and the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) as a valid opt-out mechanism under the CCPA and its amendment, the CPRA. Browsers and extensions such as DuckDuckGo, Brave, Firefox, and others have implemented GPC support, and major publishers and platforms are increasingly required to honor the signal. The specification is maintained as an open W3C community group effort. In the AdTech ecosystem, GPC represents a structural shift in how user consent and opt-out preferences are communicated at scale. Rather than requiring users to navigate individual website privacy settings, GPC automates the opt-out process at the browser level, reducing friction for consumers while creating compliance obligations for publishers, advertisers, and data brokers. It complements other consent frameworks like IAB's Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) and is increasingly relevant as privacy regulations expand globally.