>What common features that the user needs on the web rely on it? - Website owners and content creators use the Referer to see where their users are coming from

>What common features that the user needs on the web rely on it? - Website owners and content creators use the Referer to see where their users are coming from, which allows them to make content which is more suitable, which indirectly benefits the user. - It helps prevent hotlinking, so it can protect small websites from getting hammered, which again could indirectly benefit the user. I guess the point is that everyone's a "user" of HTTP, including website owners, and their interests are partly linked to yours. In an objective sense I find the standard still makes sense. In an individualistic sense, things are more complicated.