Internet Explorer 10 privacy statement for Windows 7 Last update: December 2012

Internet Explorer 10 privacy statement for Windows 7

Last update: December 2012

At Microsoft, we're working hard to protect your privacy while delivering products that bring you the performance, power, and convenience you desire in your personal computing. This Internet Explorer 10 (“Internet Explorer”) privacy statement for Windows 7 focuses on features that communicate with the Internet, explains how those features collect your data, and describes the way that data is used. This privacy statement focuses on features that communicate with the Internet. It doesn’t apply to other online or offline Microsoft sites, products, or services. Internet Explorer has certain features that may impact or help you to protect your privacy. The sections below describe some of these features and how to change their settings.

Internet basics

Internet Explorer is designed to make it easy to browse and interact with websites on your intranet or on the Internet. Whenever you use the Internet, or software with Internet-enabled features, information about your computer ("standard computer information") is sent to the websites you visit and online services you use. Standard computer information includes your computer's IP address, browser type and language, access times, and referring website addresses. This information might be logged on those sites' web servers. Which information is logged and how that information is used depends on the privacy practices of the websites you visit and web services you use.

Web browsing features that store data

ActiveX Filtering

ActiveX Controls are pieces of software that supplement how your browser works. For example, some ActiveX Controls can play audio, video, or show images on a webpage. These controls may have an impact on the performance, security, and reliability of Internet Explorer. ActiveX Filtering lets you browse the web with these controls turned off. When you view a webpage that has had ActiveX Controls filtered out, some content on the page might be disabled.

If you choose to turn on ActiveX Filtering, you can turn ActiveX Controls back on for a single website by clicking the ActiveX Filtering icon in the Address bar. When you turn off ActiveX Filtering on a website, Internet Explorer stores the address of the website on which you have chosen to disable ActiveX Filtering. You can delete this data at any time with Delete Browsing History.

To turn on ActiveX Filtering

• Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click ActiveX Filtering.

To turn off ActiveX Filtering

• Open Internet Explorer, click the Filter button in the Address bar, and then click Turn off ActiveX Filtering.

To turn off ActiveX Filtering on all websites

• Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click ActiveX Filtering.

Application compatibility logging

This feature in Internet Explorer is designed for use by developers and IT professionals to determine the compatibility of their websites with Internet Explorer. When you activate this feature, Internet Explorer logs data points about your interaction with webpages in an event log, which can be viewed with the Windows Event Viewer. These events describe failures that might have happened on the site and can include information about specific controls and webpages that failed. By default, this information can be viewed by all users on the computer unless an administrator restricts this access. For more information about logs and the use of the Windows Event Viewer, search Windows Help for "Event Viewer".

AutoComplete

The AutoComplete feature in Internet Explorer lets you more quickly fill out web forms and go to websites you have visited in the past. AutoComplete collects and stores in the registry on your computer the data you type in web form text boxes and the Address bar. If you choose to use AutoComplete for passwords, they'll be stored in encrypted form on your computer. AutoComplete information is not shared with other user accounts on your computer.

The first time you submit a web form, you will see a message box that asks if you'd like to turn the AutoComplete functionality on.

To turn AutoComplete off

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the Content tab, under AutoComplete, click Settings.
3. In the AutoComplete Settings dialog box, clear the appropriate check boxes for the options you don't want to use, and then click OK.

To clear AutoComplete history

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the General tab, under Browsing history, click Delete.
3. In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, select the Form data and Passwords check boxes, click Delete, and then click OK.

Note

• To clear web address entries, you must select the History check box, which also deletes your browsing history.

Automatic Crash Recovery

As you browse the web, Automatic Crash Recovery in Internet Explorer stores information about your browsing session on your hard disk in the event of a crash, hang, or other unexpected shutdown. If your browsing session is shut down unexpectedly, Internet Explorer offers you the opportunity to resume your last browsing session.

Automatic Crash Recovery stores the following information:

• The web address (URL) of the webpage in each tab.
• Each tab's back/forward history (every site you visited in a tab in the order you visited them).
• The arrangement and ordering of the tabs.
• Data typed into web forms.

To turn off Automatic Crash Recovery

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the Advanced tab, under Browsing, clear the Enable automatic crash recovery check box, and then click OK.

Note

• Turning off Automatic Crash Recovery does not prevent Internet Explorer from saving information about your tabs; it only disables the recovery of your tabs or browsing session. None of this information is sent to Microsoft unless you choose to send it, such as in an error report.

Compatibility List Updates

For better website and PC hardware compatibility, you can turn on Compatibility List Updates. Compatibility Lists include, for example:

• Lists of websites that were designed for older or other browsers, which allow Internet Explorer to automatically adjust how it renders or communicates with those websites in order to improve compatibility and provide for a better user experience on those sites.
• Lists of hardware devices, particularly graphics hardware, that have known compatibility problems, so that Internet Explorer can avoid using these devices when rendering web content.
• Lists of popular web addresses that Internet Explorer provides as suggestions when the user is typing in the Address bar.

If you choose this option, Internet Explorer will periodically download an updated list of Compatibility settings from Microsoft, and standard computer information will be sent. You can turn off Compatibility List Updates at any time.

Compatibility View

Compatibility View helps make websites designed for older browsers look better when viewed in Internet Explorer. If you choose to view a website in Compatibility View, as a convenience to you, Internet Explorer will remember this choice and use Compatibility View the next time you visit the site. You can clear the list of websites you've chosen to display in Compatibility View by using Delete browsing history in Internet Explorer or the Compatibility View Settings dialog box.

To clear the list of Compatibility View websites

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click Delete browsing history.
2. In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, select the History check box, and then click Delete.

To view or modify the Compatibility View settings on your computer

• Open Internet Explorer, press the Alt key, click Tools on the menu bar, and then click Compatibility View settings.

Controlling cookies

What is a cookie?

A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a website. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a website or web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer.

A cookie is often used to personalize your visit to a website or to save you time. For example, to facilitate a purchase the cookie could contain shopping cart information such as your current selection, as well as contact information such as your name or email address. To help websites track individual visitors, cookies often contain a unique identifier. It is up to the website that created the cookie to disclose to you what information is stored in the cookie and how that information is used.

Blocking cookies

You can accept or decline cookies. If you decide to block one or more cookies, the websites that use them might not function correctly. For example, if you do not allow cookies at all, you might not be able to view some websites or take advantage of customization features (such as local news and weather, or stock quotes).

To block all cookies

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the Privacy tab, move the slider up to Block All Cookies. With this setting, websites will not be able to store cookies on your computer.

Note

• Blocking all cookies might prevent you from accessing many websites. The next two Internet Explorer privacy levels, High and Medium High, might be more suitable. In addition, it is possible to block a cookie for a specific site by clicking Sites on the Privacy tab. For more information, see Internet Explorer Help.

Removing old cookies

Cookies previously saved to your hard disk can still be read unless you remove them.

To remove all of your existing cookies

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the General tab, under Browsing history, click Delete.
3. In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, select the Cookies and website data check box.
4. If you want to keep cookies associated with your saved favorites from being removed, select the Preserve Favorites website data check box.
5. Click Delete, and then click OK.

History

The History folder in Internet Explorer contains a list of links to the websites and Windows shell locations (drives and folders) you have visited recently.

To stop saving history

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. Under Browsing history, click Settings.
3. On the History tab, set the number of days to keep pages in history to 0, and then click OK.

Note

• To turn off History temporarily, you can use InPrivate Browsing. Click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click InPrivate Browsing.

Enhanced Protected Mode

Enhanced Protected Mode provides additional security for Internet Explorer by making it more difficult for malicious software to run in Internet Explorer. Enhanced Protected Mode is disabled by default for Internet Explorer.

If you choose to turn on Enhanced Protected Mode and you visit a website which uses an Add-on that isn’t compatible with Enhanced Protected Mode, you will be offered a choice to disable Enhanced Protected Mode for that site so that the Add-on will be allowed to run, or to ignore future prompts about that Add-on. Internet Explorer stores the addresses of the websites on which you have chosen to either disable Enhanced Protected Mode or ignore future prompts. You can delete this data at any time with Delete Browsing History.

To turn Enhanced Protected Mode on or off

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, click Internet options.
2. On the Advanced tab, under Settings, do one of the following:
   • To turn Enhanced Protected Mode on, check the Enable Enhanced Protected Mode check box.
   • To turn Enhanced Protected Mode off, uncheck the Enable Enhanced Protected Mode check box.

To use the Delete Browsing History feature

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click Delete browsing history.
2. In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, select the History check box, and then click Delete.

Manage Add-ons

Manage Add-ons in Internet Explorer lets you view, enable, and disable the list of add-ons that can be loaded by Internet Explorer. Add-ons you can manage include browser helper objects, ActiveX controls, toolbar extensions, explorer bars, browser extensions, search providers, Accelerators, and Tracking Protection settings.

Some add-ons could collect information from your computer or otherwise impact your privacy. If an add-on you are using is provided by a company other than Microsoft, the use of any information collected will be subject to that company's privacy practices. If you choose to disable an add-on, the add-on might require you to restart Internet Explorer for the change to take effect.

To view or modify the add-ons on your computer

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Manage add-ons.
2. Under Show, click All add-ons, and then do either of the following:
   • To disable an add-on, click it, and then click Disable.
   • To enable an add-on, click it, and then click Enable.
3. Click Close.

Note

• Disabling an add-on does not remove it from your computer. It only prevents Internet Explorer from running the add-on's code—it does not prevent other software from using the add-on. Some add-ons also can be deleted from your computer by using Manage Add-ons.
  If an add-on is disabled or deleted, website pages that rely on that add-on may not work as expected. For more information about add-ons, click the "Learn more about toolbars and extensions" help link in Manage Add-ons.

Pop-up Blocker

Pop-up Blocker in Internet Explorer helps block most unwanted pop-up windows from appearing without blocking the pop-up windows you deliberately open. Pop-up Blocker is turned on by default.

To turn off Pop-up Blocker

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the Privacy tab, under Pop-up Blocker, clear the Turn on Pop-up Blocker check box, and then click OK.

To access the Pop-up Blocker settings

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the Privacy tab, under Pop-up Blocker, click Settings.

Note

• Not all pop-up windows can be blocked with Pop-up Blocker. For more information, see Internet Explorer Help.

Features that help you control your data

Delete Browsing History

With one click, Delete Browsing History in Internet Explorer lets you clear website passwords that you asked Internet Explorer to save, entries in the Internet Explorer history folder, web form data, temporary Internet files, cookies, the Last Tab Group, and files and settings stored by some Internet Explorer add-ons that have been saved on your computer. You can also clear some of these items individually, as explained in the "Removing old cookies" and "AutoComplete" sections of this privacy statement. Internet Explorer will remember the items you’ve chosen to delete in the Delete Browsing History dialog and will delete the same items the next time you delete your browsing history in any instance of Internet Explorer.

To use the Delete Browsing History feature

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click Delete browsing history.
2. In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, select the items to delete (Temporary Internet files, cookies, history, Download History, form data, passwords, ActiveX Filtering and Tracking Protection data).
3. To keep data associated with your saved favorites, select the Preserve Favorites website data check box.
4. Click Delete, and then click OK.

Do Not Track

When you visit a website in any browser, you automatically share information with that website, such as cookies, your IP address, and other standard computer information. If the website contains content provided by a third-party website (for example a map, advertisement, or web measurement tools such as a web beacon or scripts), some information about you may be automatically sent to the content provider. This type of arrangement has several benefits: For example, you can access third-party content conveniently, and the presence of advertising on a website you are visiting may let the website provide access to premium content at no charge. There can, however, be an impact to your privacy as a result, because it is possible for the content providers to track you across multiple websites.

When the Do Not Track feature in Internet Explorer is turned on, Internet Explorer will send a Do Not Track request to the websites you visit and to the third parties whose content is hosted on those sites to let the sites know that you would prefer not to be tracked. Websites may continue to engage in activities you might view as tracking even though you have expressed this preference, depending on your websites' privacy practices.

To turn the Do Not Track header on or off

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, then click Internet options.
2. On the Advanced tab, under Settings, do one of the following:
   • To turn on do not track, check the Always send Do Not Track header check box.
   • To turn off to not track, uncheck the Always send Do Not Track header check box.

InPrivate Browsing

InPrivate Browsing can help keep your browsing history private on shared computers such as at home, or in an Internet café or public kiosk. History data that is accumulated while browsing the web in an Internet Explorer InPrivate window, such as temporary Internet files, web address history, or cookies, will be removed when you close the window. History in other Internet Explorer windows (not using InPrivate), will not be affected.

The InPrivate Browsing experience prevents local storage on your computer of the following:

• New cookies are not stored.
• New history entries will not be recorded.
• New temporary Internet files will be deleted after the InPrivate Browsing window is closed.
• Form data is not stored.
• Entered passwords are not stored.
• Addresses typed into the Address bar are not stored.
• Queries entered into the search box are not stored.

In addition, Internet Explorer will send a Do Not Track request to the websites you visit during InPrivate Browsing sessions. InPrivate Browsing is not designed to obscure your identity to your Internet provider or web servers on the Internet. It does not prevent data, such as your IP address, from being sent to websites you visit.

To turn on InPrivate Browsing

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click InPrivate Browsing.
2. To turn off InPrivate Browsing, close the InPrivate Browsing window.

Tracking Protection

Tracking Protection helps prevent the websites you go to from automatically sending details about your visit to other content providers whose content is hosted on the websites you visit. Additionally, when you have a Tracking Protection List or Personalized Tracking Protection enabled, Internet Explorer will send a Do Not Track request to the websites you visit. It will also send a Do Not Track request to the third-party websites that provide content on the websites you visit if those third party sites have not been blocked by your Tracking Protection List. Websites may continue to engage in activities you might view as tracking even though you have expressed this preference, depending on the websites’ privacy practices.

Tracking Protection Lists

Tracking Protection Lists are like “Do Not Call” lists for content that may impact your privacy. When you add a Tracking Protection List, Internet Explorer will block third-party content, including cookies, from any site that is listed. By limiting calls to these websites, Internet Explorer will limit the information these third-party sites can collect about you. At the same time, Tracking Protection Lists can also include “OK to call” entries that permit calls to specific sites. These sites will, however, receive the Do Not Track request when you connect to them and they may refrain from either tracking your online activity or serving you content based on your online activity.

You can add a Tracking Protection List by finding a website that offers one, and then clicking a link or a button in the page to add it. Microsoft maintains a website with the Tracking Protection Lists that individuals and companies have asked us to publish. You can find a link to it in the Tracking Protection feature. When you add a Tracking Protection List, Internet Explorer will download the list and check it for updates periodically.

To remove or disable a Tracking Protection List

1. Open IInternet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click Tracking Protection.
2. Click a list, and then do one of the following:
   • To delete the list, click Remove.
   • To temporarily disable the list, click Disable.

Personalized Tracking Protection List

Additionally, you can use the Personalized Tracking Protection List, which is included with Internet Explorer. This list is automatically generated based on data from the sites that you visit, including the third-party content providers on those sites. You can delete this data at any time in the Delete Browsing History dialog box.

To turn on the Personalized Tracking Protection List

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click Tracking Protection.
2. Click Your Personalized List, and then click Enable.

When Tracking Protection is enabled, some content on the websites you visit might be filtered, and therefore will not be displayed. When content has been filtered, the Tracking Protection icon appears in the Address bar. If a website does not work correctly with Tracking Protection enabled, you can turn it off just for that website by clicking the Tracking Protection icon in the Address bar.

To delete Tracking Protection data

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click Delete browsing history.
2. In the Delete Browsing History dialog box, select the InPrivate Browsing data check box, and then click Delete.

P3P privacy policies

Internet Explorer gives you the ability to view a website's P3P (Platform for Privacy Preferences standard) privacy policy and compare it to the privacy preferences you have set. Even if a website does not have a P3P privacy policy, it might have a written privacy statement that you can view.

To view a website's P3P privacy policy

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click Webpage privacy policy.
2. Double-click the website whose privacy policy you want to view.

After reviewing a website's P3P privacy policy, you can specify how you want Internet Explorer to handle cookies from that website. If you want Internet Explorer to determine whether or not to allow this website to save cookies on your computer by comparing the privacy policy with your privacy settings, select the Compare cookies' Privacy Policy to my settings check box. If you want Internet Explorer to always allow cookies from this website to be saved on your computer, select the Always allow this site to use cookies check box. If you want Internet Explorer to never allow cookies from this website to be saved on your computer, select the Never allow this site to use cookies check box.

Strict P3P Validation is a new feature in Internet Explorer 10. If you enable this feature and you’ve kept Internet Explorer’s default cookie settings, cookies from third party sites that don't have valid P3P policies will be blocked to help protect your privacy.

To enable Strict P3P Validation

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. 2. On the Advanced Tab, under Settings, check the Enable Strict P3P Validation check box.

Note

• Although Internet Explorer can display a website's P3P privacy policy, Internet Explorer cannot verify that the website complies with its own privacy policy.

Features that help you connect to online services

Accelerators

Accelerators let you use web service providers more quickly and easily. For example, you can highlight a word on a website, right-click, and select the "Translate with Bing" Accelerator to obtain a translation of a word without having to go to a separate website.

Accelerators let you use web service providers more quickly and easily. For example, you can highlight a word on a website, right-click, and select the "Translate with Bing" Accelerator to obtain a translation of a word without having to go to a separate website. Internet Explorer has several Accelerators—including search, mapping, email, and translate Accelerators—that use Microsoft web services. You can add and remove Accelerators by using Manage Add-ons. When you click or move your mouse over an Accelerator, the title and full web address or URL of the current webpage, as well as standard computer information, and any content you have selected, might be sent to the service provider. If you use an Accelerator provided by Microsoft, the information sent is subject to the privacy statement for the associated online service. For example, if you use the “Translate with Bing” Accelerator, then the Bing privacy statement will govern use of the information. If you use an Accelerator provided by a third-party, use of the information sent will be subject to the third-party's privacy practices.

Search from the Address bar

If you enter text in the Address bar in Internet Explorer and it does not resolve as a valid web address, or the text begins with a question mark, "search," "find," or "go," then Internet Explorer will redirect you to your default search provider to help you locate the site you are looking for. To provide this feature, Internet Explorer sends the invalid web address or the search query you typed to your default search provider, which returns web address options to your computer. Standard computer information might also be sent to your default search provider. If Bing is your default search provider, the information sent is subject to the Bing privacy statement. If you use a third-party search provider as your default, then information sent to the provider will be subject to the third party's privacy practices.

To turn AutoSearch off

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the Advanced tab, under Browsing, select the Do not search from the Address bar check box.

Search suggestions in the Address bar can help you refine your search by offering suggested search terms as you type. If your selected search provider offers this capability, each letter or character you type in the Address bar will be sent to your search provider when you type it. Standard computer information is also sent to the search provider as you type. If Bing is your default search provider, the information sent is subject to the Bing privacy statement. If you use a third-party search provider, use of the information sent will be subject to the third party's privacy practices. By default, search suggestions are turned off.

To turn search suggestions on or off

• Click in the Address bar and type any two characters (a minimum of two characters is required to trigger suggestions).
  • To turn on search suggestions, Click Turn on suggestions (send keystrokes to <search provider name>) at the bottom of the drop down list.
  • To turn off search suggestions, click Turn off search suggestions.

Web Slices

Web Slices let you automatically subscribe to and receive updates from webpages that change frequently, and view the updates without having to load the entire website. For example, you can subscribe to a Seattle, Washington weather Web Slice that updates when the current temperature changes. When you subscribe to a Web Slice or feed, you turn on automatic updating for all of your Web Slices and feeds. Your IP address will be sent periodically to the website that provides each Web Slice or feed to check for updates, even when Internet Explorer is not running.

To remove a Web Slice

1. On the Favorites bar, right-click the Web Slice that you want to remove.
2. Click Delete, and then click Yes.

To turn off automatic updates for Web Slices and feeds

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the Content tab, under Feeds and Web Slices, click Settings.
3. Clear the Automatically check feeds and Web Slices for updates check box, and then click OK.

Features that use Microsoft online services

Automatic upgrades

If you receive updates automatically through Windows Update, you'll receive updates to Internet Explorer, including upgrades to new versions. These updates are installed without interrupting you. If you would prefer to choose whether and when you receive an upgrade to a new version of Internet Explorer via Windows Update, you may do so.

To turn off automatic version upgrades

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click About Internet Explorer.
2. Clear the Install new versions automatically check box, and then click OK.

If you turn off automatic version upgrades, you'll still be offered a new version of Internet Explorer if you have Windows Update turned on, but it won't be installed automatically. For more information about Windows Update and your privacy, see the Update Services privacy statement.

Customer Experience Improvement Program

The Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) collects basic information about your computer and how you use Internet Explorer to help us improve the quality, reliability, and performance of our software and services. CEIP reports generally include information about your hardware configuration, a unique identifier generated by CEIP, performance and reliability data (such as how quickly the software responds when you click a button), and program use (such as which features you use most often).

Microsoft uses CEIP reports to improve our software and services. We use the unique identifier to distinguish how widespread the feedback we receive is and how to prioritize it. For example, the identifier allows Microsoft to distinguish between one customer experiencing a problem one hundred times and other customers experiencing the same problem once. Microsoft does not use the information collected by CEIP to identify, contact, or target advertising to you.

Internet Explorer uses your Windows CEIP setting. For more information about how to change the setting, see the Windows 7 privacy statement.

Location Services

Location Services in Internet Explorer let websites request your physical location in order to improve their services. For example, a mapping website can request your physical location in order to center the map for you.

When you visit a website that uses Location Services, you can choose whether or not to allow the website access to your location information. If you choose to allow a website access, Internet Explorer will contact a Microsoft location service to attempt to determine your computer’s physical location. This service uses your IP address and data from nearby Wi–Fi access points, if available.

Based on the information received, the Microsoft location service will determine your computer’s approximate location and provide it to the requesting website. The location information provided includes the latitude and longitude of your computer. It does not provide the requesting website information about available cell towers or Wi–Fi access points or any unique identifiers from your computer.

If you choose to not allow a website access to your physical location, no location data will be sent to the website, and no data will be sent to the Microsoft location service. If you choose to allow a webpage access to your physical location once, then the website will only have access to your location while you are viewing that webpage. If you choose to always allow a website access to your physical location, each time you visit any page on that site, it will be able to request information about your physical location. The website’s use of your location information will be subject that site’s privacy practices.

To turn on Location Services

• When you receive a request for location from a website, do one of the following:
  • To provide your location only once, click Allow once.
  • To provide your location every time you visit the website, click More options for this site, and then click Always allow.

To turn off Location Services

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the Privacy tab, select the Never allow websites to request your physical location check box, and then click OK.

To clear the list of sites allowed to always use location services

1. Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, and then click Internet options.
2. On the Privacy tab, under the Location section, click the Clear Sites button.

SmartScreen Filter

SmartScreen Filter is designed to help warn you about unsafe websites that are impersonating trusted websites (phishing) or contain threats to your computer. If you opt in to SmartScreen Filter, it first checks the address of the webpage you are visiting against a list of high-traffic webpage addresses stored on your computer that are believed by Microsoft to be legitimate. Addresses that are not on the local list and the addresses of files you are downloading will be sent to Microsoft and checked against a frequently updated list of webpages and downloads that have been reported to Microsoft as unsafe or suspicious. You might also choose to use SmartScreen Filter manually to verify individual sites with Microsoft. Additionally, if you download or run a program from the Internet, SmartScreen will check the program against a list of commonly downloaded and known unsafe programs to help protect you from running unsafe programs.

When you use SmartScreen Filter to check websites automatically or manually, the address of the website you are visiting will be sent to Microsoft, together with standard computer information and the SmartScreen Filter version number. To help protect your privacy, the information sent to Microsoft is encrypted. Information that may be associated with the address, such as search terms or data you entered in forms might be included. For example, if you visited the Microsoft.com search website at http://search.microsoft.com and entered "Seattle" as the search term, the full address http://search.microsoft.com/results.aspx?q=Seattle&qsc0=0&FORM=QBMH1&mkt=en-US will be sent. Address strings might unintentionally contain personal information, but this information, like the other information sent, is not used to identify, contact, or target advertising to you. In addition, Microsoft filters address strings to try to remove personal information where possible. When you use Internet Explorer to download a program, SmartScreen Filter will send the information above, along with information about the downloaded program, such as a file identifier (a “hash”), results from installed antivirus tools, and the program’s digital certificate information, if available.

Periodically, information about your usage of SmartScreen Filter will also be sent to Microsoft, such as the time and total number of websites browsed since an address was sent to Microsoft for analysis. Some information about files that you download from the web, such as name and file path, might also be sent to Microsoft. Some website addresses that are sent to Microsoft might be stored along with additional information, including web browser version, operating system version, SmartScreen Filter version, the browser language, the referring webpage, and information about whether Compatibility View was enabled for the website. A unique identifier generated by Internet Explorer is also sent. The unique identifier is a randomly generated number that does not contain any personal information and is not used to identify you. This information, along with the information described above, is only used to analyze performance and improve the quality of our products and services.

SmartScreen Filter can be turned on and off from the Internet Explorer Safety menu. For example, to turn on automatic checking of all websites:

• Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click Turn on SmartScreen Filter.

If you believe you have encountered an unsafe website, you can report it to Microsoft by clicking the Tools button, pointing to Safety, and then clicking Report unsafe website. When you report an unsafe website, some information will be sent to Microsoft, including the address of the site you are reporting, and the usage information described above.

Suggested Sites

Suggested Sites is an online experience that recommends websites, images, or videos you might be interested in. When you turn on Suggested Sites, your web browsing history is periodically sent to Microsoft, where it is saved and then compared to a frequently updated list of websites that are similar to sites you often visit. Suggested Sites also turns on automatic background updating for Web Slices and feeds, so that you can receive up-to-date suggestions on both the Suggested Sites page and the Suggested Sites Web Slice.

You can choose to pause or stop the Suggested Sites feature from sending your web browsing history to Microsoft at any time. You can also delete individual entries from your history at any time. Deleted entries will not be used to provide you with suggestions for other websites, although they will be retained by Microsoft for a period of time to help improve our products and services, including this feature. When you use InPrivate Browsing, no information about the webpages you visit will be sent to Microsoft.

When Suggested Sites is turned on, information about the webpages you visit is sent to Microsoft, together with standard computer information. This includes the addresses of the webpages you visit as well as information about images and videos included on the page. To help protect your privacy, the information is encrypted when sent to Microsoft. Information associated with the web address, such as search terms or data you entered in forms, might be included. For example, if you visited the Microsoft.com search website at http://search.microsoft.com and entered "Seattle" as the search term, the full address http://search.microsoft.com/results.aspx?q=Seattle&qsc0=0&FORM=QBMH1&mkt=en-US will be sent. Address strings might unintentionally contain personal information, but this information, like the other information sent, is not used to identify, contact, or target advertising to you. In addition, Microsoft filters address strings to try to remove personal information.

Statistics about the webpages you visit will also be sent to Microsoft, such as the time that webpages were visited, which webpage referred you, and how you got there (for example, by clicking a link or one of your Favorites). A unique identifier generated by Internet Explorer is also sent. The unique identifier is a randomly generated number that does not contain any personal information and is not used to identify you. If you delete your browsing history or if you turn Suggested Sites off and back on again, a new unique identifier will be created. We do not correlate old unique identifiers with new ones. This information, along with the website addresses and past history, will be used to personalize your experience, as well as to improve the quality of our products and services.

To turn Suggested Sites on or off

• Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to File, click Suggested Sites, and then do one of the following:
  • To turn Suggested Sites on click Yes.
  • To turn Suggested Sites off click No.

Note

• Turning off Suggested Sites does not clear your history and does not turn off automatic updates for feeds and Web Slices.
  To delete your browsing history (with or without turning off Suggested Sites)
  • • Open Internet Explorer, click the Tools button, point to Safety, and then click Delete browsing history.

How we collect, use, and store your information

Collection and use of your information

The information we collect from you will be used by Microsoft and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates to enable the features you are using and provide the services or carry out the transactions you have requested or authorized. It may also be used to analyze and improve Microsoft products and services.

In order to offer you a more consistent and personalized experience in your interactions with Microsoft, information collected through one Microsoft service may be combined with information obtained through other Microsoft services. We may also supplement the information we collect with information obtained from other companies. For example, we might use services from other companies that enable us to derive a general geographic area based on your IP address in order to customize certain services to your geographic area.

Except as described in this statement, information you provide will not be transferred to third parties without your consent. We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as answering customer questions about products or services, or performing statistical analysis of our services. We will only provide those companies the personal information they need to deliver the service, and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose. Microsoft may access or disclose information about you, including the content of your communications, in order to: (a) comply with the law or respond to lawful requests or legal process; (b) protect the rights or property of Microsoft or our customers, including the enforcement of our agreements or policies governing your use of the services; or (c) act on a good faith belief that such access or disclosure is necessary to protect the personal safety of Microsoft employees, customers, or the public.

Information that is collected by or sent to Microsoft by Internet Explorer may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Microsoft or its affiliates, subsidiaries, or service providers maintain facilities. Microsoft abides by the safe harbor framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union, the European Economic Area, and Switzerland.

Security and storage of your information

Microsoft is committed to protecting the security of your information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the personal information you provide on computer systems with limited access, which are located in controlled facilities.

Changes to the privacy statement

We may occasionally update this privacy statement. When we do, we will revise the "last updated" date at the top of the privacy statement. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to be informed of how Microsoft is protecting your information.

For more information

If you have questions about this privacy statement, please contact us by clicking here.

Internet Explorer Privacy, Microsoft Corporation, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052, USA