As the New York online advertising firm DoubleClick Inc. reaps bad publicity from its linking of consumer identities with their Web surfing habits, a Braintree, Mass., software company is trying to turn the news into profits.
Individual websites read cookies to recall user preferences or passwords.
For years ad-serving companies, including DoubleClick, have pledged to protect user anonymity and privacy. They've insisted that they're interested only in buying and surfing patterns, not in user identities. DoubleClick has been pilloried for its decision to change tactics. Then, for an elite group of clients whose names DoubleClick won't release, the ad-server began to combine its online and Abacus' offline databases. The move garnered publicity when, in late January, a California woman filed suit, alleging DoubleClick violated her privacy and engaged in deceptive business practices.