Macromedia takes consumers’ privacy very seriously and is committed to protecting the security of individuals’ personal information on the web.
This document addresses questions about the auto-update service and the privacy of Shockwave Player users’ personal information. The auto-update service was introduced in Shockwave Player 7 and exists in all subsequent versions of the player. For more information on the privacy practices for the Macromedia website, please visit the Privacy & Security page. Macromedia welcomes your feedback. If you have additional questions, please contact Macromedia by email.
Shockwave Player Auto-Update Service
- What is auto-updating?
- What happens when I use the auto-update service?
- How do I change my auto-update setting?
- How is my privacy protected during auto-update?
- What happens with URLs that include sensitive information?
- What information does is sent to Macromeida?
- How does Macromedia use this information?
- What is auto-updating?
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To make the experience of using Macromedia Shockwave Player simpler and easier, Shockwave Player offers an optional auto-update service. The service was introduced in Shockwave Player 7 and exists in all subsequent versions of the player. With this service, Shockwave Player will automatically notify you when a new version of the Shockwave Player is available. If you accept, the updates will be downloaded and added to your current Shockwave Player installation. To make this possible, the Shockwave Player needs to contact Macromedia periodically to check for updates. The auto-update service is enabled by default when you install the Shockwave Player, and can be disabled by using the right-click context menu. For detailed instructions on how to disable this feature, read the TechNote.
- What happens if I use the auto-update service?
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Periodically, the Shockwave Player on your computer will communicate back to Macromedia. This connection happens only while you are viewing Shockwave content and will not interfere with the performance of your computer or your enjoyment of Shockwave Player. This communication identifies the version of Shockwave Player you are using. If the version you have is out of date, a dialog box will give you the option of downloading and installing the new updates.
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In addition, we create generalized statistical reports about what Shockwave content is most popular. This helps us identify the best ways to optimize and enhance future versions of Shockwave Player. For example, before we release a new version of Shockwave Player, we test the most popular Shockwave content on the Web to make sure that the new player works well with the content. To create these reports, the player sends the Web addresses (URLs) of some recently viewed Shockwave content to Macromedia as part of the auto-update communication.
- How do I change my auto-update setting?
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The auto-update service is on by default when you install the Shockwave Player, but can be easily disabled through the context menu, under “Properties.” For detailed instructions on how to disable this feature, read the TechNote.
- How is my privacy protected during auto-update?
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Macromedia believes that you should be in control of the privacy of your information. We have taken steps to ensure that the Shockwave Player auto-update service respects your privacy:
- The auto-update service is optional, and can be easily disabled from the Shockwave Player context menu.
- The information Shockwave Player communicates is used for generalized statistical reports only; Macromedia does not connect it to you as an individual.
- Shockwave Player will not log or report Web addresses (URLs) that may contain sensitive personal information, as described in the next question.
- What happens with URLs that include sensitive information?
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When Shockwave Player reports information about the Shockwave content you have viewed, it sends the Web addresses (URLs) of the content to Macromedia. A very small number of URLs to Shockwave movies may contain sensitive data, such as user names or passwords, which users and site operators would not want included in Shockwave's statistical reporting. Shockwave's automatic update service has several features to protect the privacy of such URLs:
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- In many cases, Shockwave can identify that an URL potentially includes sensitive data, and automatically avoids tracking it.
- Web authors can use a special EMBED tag parameter to identify URLs that may be sensitive and should not be reported.
- Shockwave users may at any time disable the automatic update service, which prevents all further communication between their Shockwave player and Macromedia.
- What information is sent to Macromedia?
Your Shockwave installation sends an anonymous report containing the following information:
- The browser version used to view Shockwave content.
- The platform and operating system used to view the content.
- The current version of your Shockwave Player.
- The URLs of the Shockwave movies that were viewed. These URLs are not associated with your user identity in any way.
- Some general information about those movies, such as their sizes, the version of Director that was used to create them, and how long they were viewed.
- How does Macromedia use this information?
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Macromedia uses the platform and operation system information to determine whether you have the latest Shockwave player. We use the other information to create generalized statistical reports about which Shockwave content is most popular. This helps us identify the best ways to optimize and enhance future versions of the Shockwave player. Read Macromedia's privacy statement.
