This article describes the default privacy settings for Internet Explorer 6.

Internet Explorer 6 implements advanced cookie filtering based on the Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) specification. The P3P specification, developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), enables you to input your privacy preferences and assist Web sites in clearly describing, in a computer-readable format, how these Web sites can use your data.

For information about P3P, refer to the following Web site: Internet Explorer 6 can notify you of Web sites that do not satisfy your privacy settings.

For additional information about custom settings, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The cookie settings that are configured on the Security tab of Internet Options in Internet Explorer version 4 and version 5 (or on the Advanced tab in Internet Explorer version 3) are removed when you upgrade to Internet Explorer 6.

A new Privacy tab has been added to Internet Options to configure cookie settings for the Internet zone. By default, Internet Explorer 6 sets your privacy preferences to Medium for the Internet zone and displays a Privacy dialog box the first time a cookie is restricted at this privacy level. The Privacy dialog box explains that a privacy icon is displayed in the status bar each time a cookie is restricted based on your privacy settings and that you can double-click the privacy icon to see a privacy report.

NOTE: All cookies are automatically accepted in the Local intranet and Trusted zones, and blocked in the Restricted zone.

General Information on Cookies

For additional information about cookie terminology, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Medium (Default) Privacy Setting

The Medium privacy setting blocks third-party cookies that do not have a compact policy (a condensed computer-readable privacy statement) or third-party cookies that have a compact policy that specifies that personally identifiable information is used without your implicit consent. First-party cookies that have a compact policy that specifies that personally identifiable information is used without implicit consent are "downgraded" (deleted when you close Internet Explorer). First-party cookies that do not have a compact policy are "leashed" (restricted so that they can only be read in the first-party context). Cookies that had been stored on your computer before you installed Internet Explorer 6 are also leashed.

NOTE: By default, the Per Site Privacy Actions dialog box is not populated, so the Medium setting is not overridden for any individual Web sites. If you click Edit on the Privacy tab of Internet Options and you add managed Web sites to the list with either an Always Block or Always Allow setting, these preferences can override the Medium setting on the slider.

For additional information about P3P, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: