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Microsoft recognizes that you are concerned about protecting your privacy when using your computer and accessing the Internet.
The following sections provide more information about the options on the Privacy Options tab. If you want to review or change these options later, you can do so in the Player by clicking the Tools menu, clicking Options, and then clicking the Privacy tab.
Note that, if you are upgrading Windows Media Player, your previous settings for some of the options are retained.
For more information about privacy, see the Windows Media Player privacy statement at the Microsoft Web site.
To enrich your experience when playing CDs, DVDs, and digital media files, the Player downloads related media information about the content, such as the album title, album art, song and DVD titles, artist, composer, and other information, by default.
Note that the media information that is retrieved may not be in your local language.
You can use the following options, which are selected by default, to control whether related media information is retrieved for your digital media content.
Retrieve media information for CDs and DVDs from the Internet
The Player attempts to obtain media information for the CDs and DVDs that you play. To obtain the media information, the Player sends the CD or DVD identifier to a database operated by WindowsMedia.com. WindowsMedia.com then sends the information back to your computer, where the information is stored.
For more information about privacy and WindowsMedia.com, see the WindowsMedia.com Web site.
Update my music files (WMA and MP3 files) by retrieving missing media information from the Internet
The Player automatically obtains and updates missing media information for music files that are added to or are in Media Library. By default, the music files in your My Music folder are added to Media Library.
Information from the files may be sent to the database operated by WindowsMedia.com so the Player can retrieve and append additional media information, including album art, to the files. The Player also adds album art to the music folders and files in your My Music folder.
The Player attempts to update and append any missing media information in your files 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
The Player also adds album art to files and music folders in your My Music folder.
Note that if you clear either of the preceding check boxes, Player features that enhance the playback experience and provide information about the content you play are unavailable.
Acquire licenses automatically for protected content
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.
If you clear this check box, you are prompted to a acquire a license each time you select a protected file for which you do not have a license.
You can use the following settings to control whether content providers can uniquely identify your Player when you receive streaming media from their servers and to control whether Web servers can store cookies on your computer.
Send unique Player ID to content providers
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
Cookies are small files that contain information content providers can use to customize the data sent back to your computer. Cookies are sent from Web servers and are stored on your computer. The servers may also record or log the requests made by the Player. 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.
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.
The following option specifies whether to send anonymous Player usage information to Microsoft. The anonymous information obtained from you and other program participants is used to improve the Player and related services.
I want to help make Microsoft software and services even better by sending Player usage data to Microsoft
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.
Links to files and URLs are saved in a few places in the Player. You can clear the following check box to prevent others from seeing which files you play and which Internet addresses (URLs) you visit.
Save file and URL history in the Player
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.