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Setting privacy options

Use the Privacy tab to change settings that affect the retrieval and storage of media information on your computer. Additionally, you can choose whether to allow Web sites to identify your Player and store cookies on your computer.

You can also choose to participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program.

For more information about privacy, see the Windows Media Player privacy statement at the Microsoft Web site.

To access the Privacy tab

The following options are listed on the Privacy tab:

Retrieve media information for CDs and DVDs from the Internet

Specifies that the Player attempts to obtain media information, such as artist name, track name, and album art, for the CDs and DVDs that you play. To obtain the information, the Player sends information about your CDs and DVDs to a database operated by WindowsMedia.com.

For more information about privacy and WindowsMedia.com, see the WindowsMedia.com Web site.

When your computer is offline, the Player stores the request for media information so it can attempt to obtain the media information the next time your computer is connected to the Internet.

Note that the media information that is retrieved may not be in your local language. 

Update my music files (WMA and MP3 files) by retrieving missing media information from the Internet

Specifies that the Player automatically obtain and update missing media information for music files that are added to or are in Media Library, if the information is available. By default, the music files in your My Music folder are added to Media Library.

The Player attempts to update any missing media information in your music files by sending data about the files to a database operated by WindowsMedia.com if this check box is selected and you perform any of the following actions:

     Use Media Library for the first time after updating the Player

     Add files to Media Library by searching your computer

     Add files to monitored folders, such as My Music

For example, if you have music files that contain the artist name but not the album name, the Player adds the album name to the file after retrieving the information from the database.

The Player also adds album art to files and music folders in your My Music folder.

Note that by default, only missing media information, such as album or artist name, is added to your music files. You can choose to overwrite existing media information by clicking the Overwrite existing information option on the Media Library tab.

When you display the Info Center View pane, the Player retrieves related media information but does not update the information in your files.

Note that the media information that is retrieved may not be in your local language. 

Acquire licenses automatically for protected content

Specifies whether the Player automatically acquires a license when a file requires one. Acquiring licenses automatically can provide a more seamless playback experience for protected files because the Player obtains the license without prompting you.

Some protected content requires a license to play it. To acquire licenses for content (other than content from CDs that you copy to your computer), you may be required to visit the content provider's Web site. Once a license is acquired, it is stored on your computer.

You cannot play protected content if you do not have the license. In some cases, you may be required to pay for the license. In other cases, you may be required to complete a form before the content provider will issue the license to you.

For more information about copying CDs or licenses, see Understanding licensed files.

Send unique Player ID to content providers

Specifies whether the Player can be uniquely identified by Web servers, using an identifier created by the Player. The identifier uniquely identifies the Player connection to a server and does not contain any personally identifiable information about you.

If this check box is selected when you receive streaming media over the Internet, Windows Media Player sends a unique identifier to the server that is delivering the stream or receiving connection information. The server typically uses this unique identifier to perform tasks such as monitoring your connections, gathering statistics, and providing access to content. By monitoring your connection, the server administrator can often make adjustments to improve the playback quality and provide additional services.

The Player does not send this unique ID to content providers by default. Note that you may encounter content providers that require you to send a unique identifier to receive content. If so, you can select this check box to provide that identifier. For more information about how a content provider uses the Player ID, see the content provider's privacy policy.

If you do not want a server to be able to uniquely identify your computer when you are receiving streaming media, do not select this check box.

Cookies

Click to change the privacy, or cookie, settings in Internet Explorer.

The Player uses the cookie settings in Internet Explorer to communicate with other computers when playing streaming content and to communicate with the Media Guide, Radio Tuner, and Premium Services Web sites. Cookies also enable content providers to provide personalized services from their Web sites.

Web servers from which you obtain digital media content may attempt to store cookies on your computer. If you want to prevent the servers from storing cookies or if you want to be prompted before they are stored on your computer, you must change security settings in Internet Explorer. For more information about cookies, see Internet Explorer Help.

You can prevent (block) your computer from storing cookies from a specific Web site by adding the address of that Web site to a list in Internet Explorer and then specifying that you want to block cookies from that site. You can also prevent your computer from storing cookies from all Web sites by changing the security level in Internet Explorer. For more information about cookies, see Internet Explorer Help.

Note that any changes made to cookie settings in Internet Explorer affect not only the Player, but also Internet Explorer, Microsoft Outlook®, and Microsoft Outlook Express.

I want to help make Microsoft software and services even better by sending Player usage data to Microsoft

Specifies whether you want to help Microsoft improve the Player and related services by sending anonymous Player usage information to Microsoft through the Customer Experience Improvement Program. The anonymous information obtained from you and other program participants is used to improve the Player and related services.

We invite you to join our Customer Experience Improvement Program to improve the quality, reliability, and performance of Microsoft software and services. If you accept, we’ll collect anonymous information about your hardware configuration and how you use our software and services to identify trends and usage patterns. We will not collect your name, address, or any other personally identifiable information. There are no surveys to complete, no salesperson will call, and you can continue working without interruption. It's completely anonymous.

Read more about the Customer Experience Improvement Program.

To join the Customer Experience Improvement Program, select this check box.

Save file and URL history in the Player

Specifies whether lists of your most recently played files are displayed on the File menu and in the Open and Open URL dialog boxes.

If this check box is selected, anyone who uses the Player with your user account can see the list of the content you have played recently.

Note that user accounts are not available on Windows 98 Second Edition and Windows Millennium Edition.

Clear History

Click to remove stored information from the list on the File menu and from the lists in the Open and Open URL dialog boxes.

Clear CD/DVD

Click to remove all stored media information about CDs and DVDs that you have played. After downloading media information about CDs and DVDs from the Internet, the information is stored on your computer so that it is available to you even when your computer is not connected to the Internet. Note that the Player must send information about the CD and DVD to WindowsMedia.com to display the correct album art and other media information.

If you remove the media information for your CDs and DVDs, you will need to be connected to the Internet when you play them to view album art, track names, album names, and so on.

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