Microsoft has confirmed that it will add several new privacy features to its forthcoming Internet Explorer 8 browser that will allow users to cover their digital tracks while surfing the Web.

“Users should be in control of their information. That’s at the core of privacy,” wrote IE 8 program manager Andy Zeigler in a blog post Monday. Ziegler used the post to confirm that IE 8 will include four new privacy features when it ships later this year.

InPrivate Subscriptions will let users choose which Web sites to subscribe to or block.

A fourth feature, Delete Browsing History, gives users control over their browsing history after visiting a Web site.

“Privacy has two aspects: disclosure and choice,” wrote Zeigler. “Disclosure means informing users in plain language about the data collected about them and how it’s used. Choice means putting users in control of their data and giving them tools to protect it.”

Microsoft this summer tipped its hand on the features by applying for a trademark on the term InPrivate. The company’s July 30 trademark application said the term refers to “computer programs for disabling the history of file caching features of a Web browser, and computer software for notifying a user of a Web browser when others are tracking Web use and for controlling the information others can access about such use.”Read More - InformationWeek