Why do some visitors have no referer?

missing website stats referrer

[freewebsiteideas]

Why is it that some visitors don't have a refererer? Can tools be downloaded and installed on web browsers to mask or hide the page that they enter your website from?

[tedster]

Yes, browsers can be configured to suppress the referer information, but there are many other reasons as well. Here's a Library thread from our Tracvking and Logging forum on the topic of why there is "no referer" traffic:

[webmasterworld.com...] (be sure to read message #20 from Brett Tabke.

[freewebsiteideas]

Would you imagine that someday browsers will give web surfers the option to hide their referer?

[bedlam]

Would you imagine that someday browsers will give web surfers the option to hide their referer?

In Firefox:

• Type

  about:config

  into the address bar
  
• Scroll down 'til you find

  network.http.sendRefererHeader

  
  
• Remember or write down the original value
  
• Double click it and enter

  0

  into the box
  

The browser will now not send a referer header. This can also be done in Opera...

-b

[moltar]

Could also be bots that pretend to be a browser...

[topr8]

>>Would you imagine that someday browsers will give web surfers the option to hide their referer?

with opera of course it is a standard option to withold referer info

[encyclo]

with opera of course it is a standard option to withold referer info

Referer logging is enabled by default in Opera, but it is easy to disable just by pressing F12 and deselecting it. In Firefox, there is no direct route other than in

about:config

unless you are using the web developer extension or similar.

I always disable referer logging and rarely have any problem with sites.

[bumpaw]

I always disable referer logging and rarely have any problem with sites.

Anybody want to mention some reasons they have for doing this.

[encyclo]

Perhaps you should ask whether you should have referers enabled in your browser? :) The referer header is information leakage, valuable for the site owner certainly, but not for me as a user. I block referers to thwart tracking, in the same way that I wipe all but a select few cookies automatically when I close the browser (see the great "CookieCuller" extension for Firefox).

There are a significant number of advanced users of Opera/Firefox etc. who disable referers as a matter of course. Why give away your browsing habits?

[DrDoc]

It could also be type-in traffic.

[digitalghost]

Prefbar for Firefox allows you to select whether to send referrer info or not with a click. Has a dropdown for selecting UAs. There are at least two other plugins for FF that allow the user to decide what info gets passed.

[bumpaw]

I block referers to thwart tracking, in the same way that I wipe all but a select few cookies automatically when I close the browser (see the great "CookieCuller" extension for Firefox)

It all leaves me a little torn since I'm making money as an affiliate and cookies are part of the system. As a user I used to worry a lot about cookies et al, but lately haven't had time to think about it. I do use Firefox and will give those extensions a look.

[kangus]

It all leaves me a little torn since I'm making money as an affiliate and cookies are part of the system.

They wanted me to use that system and I refused, we use a database to track and keep session information. I cron a grooming process every night after the backup finishes. Works good and nobody has ever complained. When we started we had problems with table blot but the grooming nightly seems to have cured it, that and a new server...

[PCInk]

Note that some very popular firewalls block referers as standard.

[freewebsiteideas]

Many websites including do not work if you try to block your referer so I've found...