The internet will soon pick up a page from a telephone playbook. In a bid to position itself as a privacy-friendly portal, AOL has announced that it will soon offer users a do-not-track list similar to do-not-call lists that consumers have used to shield themselves from unwanted telemarketers.

AOL will set up a website for users to register for an opt-out list. However, the website will allow marketers to make a pitch for users to agree to share some personal information.

"Instead of having interruptive ads, instead of jarring things that will grab your attention, things are hopefully tailored to be suitable to your experience," Jules Polonetsky, the chief privacy officer for AOL told The New York Times. "We think tailoring advertising content in a way that is useful is a good proposition."

Earlier this summer, AOL achieved a personal data coup, paying $275 million for behavioral targeting firm TACODA.