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Microsoft recognizes that you are concerned about protecting your privacy while using your computer and accessing the Internet.
When you first use Windows Media Player, a set of privacy options are presented to you. If you later want to review or change these options, you can do so by using the Privacy tab in the Player.
The Player, as determined by options that you control, can use your Internet connection to do things such as:
Additionally, the Player can store information about digital media and Web addresses (URLs) that you visit to make it easier for you to access the files or URLs again.
For more information about what data is collected and how that data is used, please see the Windows Media Player privacy statement on the Microsoft Web site.
For more information about privacy and WindowsMedia.com please see the WindowsMedia.com 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. To retrieve the media information about content, the Player sends an identifier for the CD or DVD to a database operated by WindowsMedia.com. WindowsMedia.com then sends the information back to your computer, where the information is stored. In the case of digital media files, information from the files may be sent to the database operated by WindowsMedia.com in an attempt to retrieve and update additional media information.
The following options, which are selected by default, enable you to control whether related media information is retrieved for your digital media content. Select the options that you want on the Privacy Options tab. Or, if the Player is open, on the Tools menu, click Options, and then click Privacy.
The media information is stored on your computer. To remove the media information, click the Clear CD/DVD button. For more information about the Clear CD/DVD button, see the Clear CD/DVD section later in this topic.
By default, the music files in your My Music folder are added to Media Library.
When any of the following actions occur and this check box is selected, media information, including the album art for your files is updated in your files to include any missing information by sending data about your music files to a database operated by WindowsMedia.com:
When using Info Center View, related media information is also retrieved but the information in your files is not updated.
For example, if you have music files that have the artist name, but not the album name, the Player adds the album name to the file after accessing the database operated by WindowsMedia.com to retrieve the information.
The Player also adds album art to music folders and files in your My Music folder.
Note that by default, only missing media information such as album or artist name is added for your music files. Other options for updating and overwriting media information are provided once the Player starts. For more information, click the Media Library tab in the Options dialog box once the Player is started.
Note that if you clear either of the preceding options, you will make Player features that enhance the playback experience and provide information about the content you play unavailable.
The following options enable content providers to uniquely identify your Player when you receive streaming media from their servers, and to change settings that determine whether Web servers store cookies on your computer.
If this check box is selected when you receive streaming media over the Internet, Windows Media Player will send 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 can make adjustments to improve the playback quality and to provide services.
The Player does not send this unique ID to content providers by default. Note that you may encounter content provider services that require a unique identifier to work properly. If so, you can select this check box. For more information about how a content provider uses the Player ID, see the privacy policy of the content provider.
If you do not want a server to uniquely identify your computer when you are receiving streaming media, clear this check box.
The Player relies on the cookies settings in Internet Explorer. Click the Cookies button to change cookie settings in Internet Explorer.
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 anonymous information obtained from you and other program participants is used to improve the Player and related services.
Specifies whether you want to help Microsoft 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 safe, secure, and completely anonymous.
Read more about the Customer Experience Improvement Program.
Links to files and URLs are saved in the Player in a couple of different places. If you share your computer, you can select the following check box to prevent others from viewing the files that you've played and the URLs that you've visited:
The following additional options on the Privacy tab in the Player enable you to remove stored information from your computer:
Click to remove all stored information about files that you have played and URLs that you have visited.
After downloading media information about CDs and DVDs from the Internet, the information is stored on your computer to make the media information available to you even when your computer is not connected to the Internet. Click the Clear CD/DVD button to remove all stored information about CDs and DVDs that you have played.
If you remove the media information for your CDs and DVDs, you will need to be online when you play them to view album art, track names, album names, and more. If you do store media information in the Media Library on your computer, you can view the media information when you play CDs and DVDs even if you are offline. Note that the Player must send information about the CD and DVD to WindowsMedia.com to find the correct album art and other media information.