P3P 1.0 element definitions and translations - 27 May 2003 DRAFT
P3P Element   P3P Spec Definition IE6 Translation Proposed Translation [from LFC] Notes Jeremy's notes
n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a   We do not use the "this web site" convension in the definision b/c the headers give this info
  discuri (attribute of POLICY element) URI of the natural language privacy statement To read this Web site's complete privacy policy, click here Read this site's full privacy policy at [with link to discuri]   you had no IE6 translation before so I added the current one and it is the same as your suggested one
  opturi (attribute of POLICY element) URI of instructions that users can follow to request or decline to have their data used for a particular purpose (opt-in or opt-out)   Find out how to opt-out at [with link to opturi]   I agree with your recommendation
ENTITY   Identifies the legal entity making the representation of the privacy practices contained in the policy   How to reach this site [display all entity information provided by site]   How to contact this provider [display all entity information provided by site]
ACCESS   the ability of the individual to view identified data and address questions or concerns to the service provider. Service providers MUST disclose one value for the access attribute. The method of access is not specified. Any disclosure (other than <all/>) is not meant to imply that access to all data is possible, but that some of the data may be accessible and that the user should communicate further with the service provider to determine what capabilities they have. What types of information about myself do I have access to? Access to your information I use the phrase "identified with you" rather than about you because arguably information that is not identified with you may still be about you (identifiable) -- is this the best we can do or is there a clearer way to say this? What information collected about me can I access?
  nonident Web site does not collect identified data. Personally identifiable information is not collected and therefore is not accessible. This site does not keep any information identified with you in its records We use the phrase "this site" throughout this section and elsewhere. In many cases it doesn't really refer to the site but actually the people who run the site. On the other hand, it is concise and probably conveys the appropriate meaning. Is there a better phrase we should be using? Personally identifiable information is not collected by this site and therefore is not accessible.
  all  All Identified Data: access is given to all identified data.  All personally identifiable information. This site allows you to access all of the information identified with you in its records   Access all of the personally identified information collected about you
  contact-and-other Identified Contact Information and Other Identified Data: access is given to identified online and physical contact information as well as to certain other identified data. Personally identifiable online and physical contact information, as well as to other information linked to an identifiable person. This site allows you to access your contact information and certain other information identified with you in its records    
  ident-contact Identifiable Contact Information: access is given to identified online and physical contact information (e.g., users can access things such as a postal address). Personally identifiable online and physical contact information such as a postal address. This site allows you to access your contact information in its records There is a typo in the P3P spec. "Identifiable" should be "Identified" Personally identified online and physical contact information such as a postal address.
  other-ident Other Identified Data: access is given to certain other identified data (e.g., users can access things such as their online account charges). Certain other information linked to an identifiable person such as online account charges. This site allows you to access some of the information identified with you in its records   access some of the information identified with you such as online account charges. (I think examples help the uesr identify with what it is saying)
  none None: no access to identified data is given. None. This site does not permit you to find out what information identified with you is stored in its records   No access is given to you to finf out what information identified with you is collected.
DISPUTES   Describes dispute resolution procedures that may be followed for disputes about a services' privacy practices, or in case of protocol violation.  How does this Web site handle disputes about collected data? How to resolve privacy-related disputes with this site   agree with yours
  service Individual may complain to the Web site's customer service representative for resolution of disputes regarding the use of collected data. The description MUST include information about how to contact customer service.  %User Agents display the policies Short Description string here% [display long description and short description, if provided, with hyperlink to service URI]   agree with yours
  independent Individual may complain to an independent organization for resolution of disputes regarding the use of collected data. The description MUST include information about how to contact the third party organization.  %User Agents display the policies Short Description string here% [display long description and short description, if provided, with hyperlink to service URI]   agree with yours
  court Individual may file a legal complaint against the Web site.  An individual may file a legal complaint against the Web site. [display long description and short description, if provided, with hyperlink to service URI]    
  law Disputes arising in connection with the privacy statement will be resolved in accordance with the law referenced in the description.  %User Agents display the policies Short Description string here% [display long description and short description, if provided, with hyperlink to service URI]   agree with yours
REMEDIES   Remedies in case a policy breach occurs   [no heading - display this following corresponding disputes element]    
  correct Errors or wrongful actions arising in connection with the privacy policy will be remedied by the service.   This site will correct any errors it makes related to the commitments in its privacy policy    
  money If the service provider violates its privacy policy it will pay the individual an amount specified in the human readable privacy policy or the amount of damages.   This site will pay individuals if it violates its privacy policy    
  law Remedies for breaches of the policy statement will be determined based on the law referenced in the human readable description.   This site's privacy policy references a law that will determine any remedies for breaches of that policy    
NON-IDENTIFIABLE   This element signifies that either no data is collected (including Web logs), or that the organization collecting the data will anonymize the data referenced in the enclosing STATEMENT. In order to consider the data "anonymized", there must be no reasonable way for the entity or a third party to attach the collected data to the identity of a natural person. Some types of data are inherently anonymous, such as randomly-generated session IDs. Data which might identify natural people in some circumstances, such as IP addresses, names, or addresses, must have a non-reversible transformation applied in order be considered "anonymized".   Any collected data is anonymized   agree with yours.
PURPOSE   purposes for data processing relevant to the Web. Why is this information collected? How your information may be used    
  current Completion and Support of Current Activity: Information may be used by the service provider to complete the activity for which it was provided, such as the provision of information, communications, or interactive services -- for example to return the results from a Web search, to forward email, or place an order.  Information may be used by the Web site to complete the activity for which it was provided, whether the activity is a one-time event, such as returning the results from a Web search, forwarding an e-mail message or placing an order; or a recurring event, such as providing a subscription service or allowing access to an online address book or electronic wallet. To carry out the activity for which the information was provided   I agree with you
  admin Web Site and System Administration: Information may be used for the technical support of the Web site and its computer system. This would include processing computer account information, information used in the course of securing and maintaining the site, and verification of Web site activity by the site or its agents.  Information may be used for the technical support of the Web site and its computer system. For example, to process computer account information, to secure and maintain the site, or to verify Web site activity by the site or its agents. For web site and system administration It might be more precise to say "To facilitate web site and system administration" but "facilitate" is kind of a big word which I would rather avoid I agree with you 
  develop Research and Development: Information may be used to enhance, evaluate, or otherwise review the site, service, product, or market. This does not include personal information used to tailor or modify the content to the specific individual nor information used to evaluate, target, profile or contact the individual.  Information may be used to enhance, evaluate, or otherwise review the Web site, service, product, or market.  To do research and development without creating a record identified with you   I agree with you
  tailoring One-time Tailoring: Information may be used to tailor or modify content or design of the site not affirmatively selected by the particular individual where the information is used only for a single visit to the site and not used for any kind of future customization. For example, an online store that suggests other items a visitor may wish to purchase based on the items he has already placed in his shopping basket.  Information may be used to tailor or modify the content or design of the Web site during a single visit to the site. For example, an online store might suggest other items for a visitor to purchase based on items he has already placed in his shopping basket. To customize the site for your current visit   I agree with you.
  pseudo-analysis Pseudonymous Analysis: Information may be used to create or build a record of a particular individual or computer that is tied to a pseudonymous identifier, without tying personally-identifiable information (such as name, address, phone number, email address, or IP address) to the record. This profile will be used to determine the habits, interests, or other characteristics of individuals for purpose of research, analysis and reporting, but it will not be used to attempt to identify specific individuals. For example, a marketer may wish to understand the interests of visitors to different portions of a Web site.  Information that is based upon a unique identifier but that cannot be linked to an individual may be used for research, analysis, and reporting. For example, the number of users within a ZIP code.  To do research and analysis in which your records may be used without identifying you   To do research and analysis in which data collected about you may be used without identifying you
  pseudo-decision Pseudonymous Decision: Information may be used to create or build a record of a particular individual or computer that is tied to a pseudonymous identifier, without tying personally-identifiable information (such as name, address, phone number, email address, or IP address) to the record. This profile will be used to determine the habits, interests, or other characteristics of individuals to make a decision that directly affects that individual, but it will not be used to attempt to identify specific individuals. For example, a marketer may tailor or modify content displayed to the browser based on pages viewed during previous visits.  Information that is based upon a unique identifier but that cannot be linked an individual may be used to make a decision that directly affects that individual. For example, an individual within a certain ZIP code is presented with advertisements for companies located in that same ZIP code. To make decisions – for example, about what content or ads you see at the web site – without identifying you structure is a little convoluted, can we say this more clearly? To make decisions on your behalf without identifying you. For example, about what content of adds you see at a web site.
  individual-analysis Individual Analysis: Information may be used to determine the habits, interests, or other characteristics of individuals and combine it with personally identifiable information for the purpose of research, analysis and reporting. For example, an online Web site for a physical store may wish to analyze how online shoppers make offline purchases.  Information that can be linked to an individual may be used for research, analysis, and reporting. For example, data about the types of and price ranges of products an individual has looked at. To do research and analysis in which your records may be used   To do research and analysis in which your data may be used
  individual-decision Individual Decision:  Information may be used to determine the habits, interests, or other characteristics of individuals and combine it with personally identifiable information to make a decision that directly affects that individual.  For example, an online store suggests items a visitor may wish to purchase based on items he has purchased during previous visits to the Web site.  Information that can be linked to an individual may be used to make a decision that directly affects that individual. For example, a Web site might show an individual houses that are within her ability to purchase, regardless of the price range she has researched before.  To make decisions – for example, about what content or ads you see at the web site structure is a little convoluted, can we say this more clearly? To make decisions on your behalf. For example, about what content or ads you see at the web site
  contact Contacting Visitors for Marketing of Services or Products: Information may be used to contact the individual, through a communications channel other than voice telephone, for the promotion of a product or service. This includes notifying visitors about updates to the Web site. This does not include a direct reply to a question or comment or customer service for a single transaction -- in those cases, would be used. In addition, this does not include marketing via customized Webcontent or banner advertisements embedded in sites the user is visiting -- these cases would be covered by the , and , or and purposes.  Information may be used to contact an individual, through a communications channel other than voice telephone, for the promotion of a product or service. This includes notifying visitors about updates to the Web site. To contact you through means other than telephone (for example, email or postal mail) to market services or products   agree with you
  historical Historical Preservation: Information may be archived or stored for the purpose of preserving social history as governed by an existing law or policy. This law or policy MUST be referenced in the element and MUST include a specific definition of the type of qualified researcher who can access the information, where this information will be stored and specifically how this collection advances the preservation of history.  Information may be archived or stored for the purpose of preserving social history as governed by an existing law or policy. To preserve social history   agree with you
  telemarketing Contacting Visitors for Marketing of Services or Products Via Telephone: Information may be used to contact the individual via a voice telephone call for promotion of a product or service. This does not include a direct reply to a question or comment or customer service for a single transaction -- in those cases, would be used.  Information may be used to contact the individual via voice telephone for promotion of a product or service. To contact you by telephone to market services or products   agree with you
  other-purpose Other Uses: Information may be used in other ways not captured by the above definitions. (A human readable explanation should be provided in these instances).  Other Uses:  %User Agents display the policies string here% For other uses: [include site's human, readable explanation; if site omits human-readable explanation say "not described by site"]   agree with you
RECIPIENT   the legal entity, or domain, beyond the service provider and its agents where data may be distributed.  Who has access to this information? Who may use your information   agree with you
  ours Ourselves and/or our entities acting as our agents or entities for whom we are acting as an agent: An agent in this instance is defined as a third party that processes data only on behalf of the service provider for the completion of the stated purposes. (e.g., the service provider and its printing bureau which prints address labels and does nothing further with the information.)  This Web site, entities for whom it is acting as an agent, and/or entities acting as its agent. An agent in this instance is defined as a third party that processes data only for the completion of the stated purpose, such as a shipping firm or printing service. This web site and the companies that help the site fulfill your requests (for example, shipping or billing companies that may not use your information for marketing or other purposes that go beyond fulfilling your request)   agree with you
  delivery Delivery services possibly following different practices: Legal entities performing delivery services that may use data for purposes other than completion of the stated purpose. This should also be used for delivery services whose data practices are unknown.  Legal entities performing delivery services that may use data for purposes other than completion of the stated purpose. Delivery companies who may also use your information for other purposes   agree with you
  same Legal entities following our practices: Legal entities who use the data on their own behalf under equable practices. (e.g., consider a service provider that grants the user access to collected personal information, and also provides it to a partner who uses it once but discards it. Since the recipient, who has otherwise similar practices, cannot grant the user access to information that it discarded, they are considered to have equable practices.)  Legal entities that have equivalent practices to this Web site. Other companies with similar privacy policies   agree with you
  other-recipient Legal entities following different practices: Legal entities that are constrained by and accountable to the original service provider, but may use the data in a way not specified in the service provider's practices (e.g., the service provider collects data that is shared with a partner who may use it for other purposes. However, it is in the service provider's interest to ensure that the data is not used in a way that would be considered abusive to the users' and its own interests.)  Legal entities that are constrained by and accountable to this Web site, but may use the data in a way not specified in this Web site s practices. Other companies with different privacy policies   agree with you
  unrelated Unrelated third parties: Legal entities whose data usage practices are not known by the original service provider.  Legal entities whose data usage practices are not known by this Web site. Other companies   agree with you
  public Public fora: Public fora such as bulletin boards, public directories, or commercial CD-ROM directories.  Public forums such as bulletin boards, public directories, or commercial CD-ROM directories. People who retrieve your information from public bulletin boards, chat rooms, directories, etc.   agree with you
RETENTION   the type of retention policy in effect  How long is the information retained? How long your information may be retained   agree with you
  no-retention Information is not retained for more than a brief period of time necessary to make use of it during the course of a single online interaction. Information MUST be destroyed following this interaction and MUST not be logged, archived, or otherwise stored. This type of retention policy would apply, for example, to services that keep no Web server logs, set cookies only for use during a single session, or collect information to perform a search but do not keep logs of searches performed.  Information is not retained longer than the single online interaction.  Information is not retained beyond the current online session   agree with you
  stated-purpose For the stated purpose: Information is retained to meet the stated purpose. This requires information to be discarded at the earliest time possible. Sites MUST have a retention policy that establishes a destruction time table. The retention policy MUST be included in or linked from the site's human-readable privacy policy.  Information is retained to meet the stated purpose and discarded at the earliest time possible. Information is retained to meet the stated purpose and discarded at the earliest time possible   agree with you
  legal-requirement As required by law or liability under applicable law: Information is retained to meet a stated purpose, but the retention period is longer because of a legal requirement or liability. For example, a law may allow consumers to dispute transactions for a certain time period; therefore a business may for liability reasons decide to maintain records of transactions, or a law may affirmatively require a certain business to maintain records for auditing or other soundness purposes. Sites MUST have a retention policy that establishes a destruction time table. The retention policy MUST be included in or linked from the site's human-readable privacy policy.  Information is retained beyond the time it takes to complete the stated purpose because of a legal requirement or liability. For example, a law may allow consumers to dispute transactions within a certain time frame, therefore a Web site may decide to keep a record of transactions. Information is retained beyond the time it takes to complete the stated purpose because of a legal requirement or liability (for example, if a law allows consumers to dispute transactions within a certain time period, a site may keep a record of transactions until the end of that period)   agree with you
  business-practices Determined by service provider's business practice: Information is retained under a service provider's stated business practices. Sites MUST have a retention policy that establishes a destruction time table. The retention policy MUST be included in or linked from the site's human-readable privacy policy.  Information is retained per the service provider's stated business practices. Information is retained according to the business practices explained in the site's privacy policy   agree with you
  indefinitely Indefinitely: Information is retained for an indeterminate period of time. The absence of a retention policy would be reflected under this option. Where the recipient is a public fora, this is the appropriate retention policy.  Information is retained for an indeterminate period of time. Information may be retained indefinitely   agree with you
CATEGORIES   An example of a non-reversible transformation is removing the last seven bits of an IP address and replacing them with zeros. This transformation must be applied to all copies of the data, including those that might be stored on backup media. An algorithm that replaces identified data with unique corresponding values from a table is not considered non-reversible. In addition, a one-way cryptographic hash would not be considered non-reversible if the set of possible data values is small enough that all possible hashed values can be generated and compared with the value that someone is attempting to reverse. What kind of information does this Web site collect? Types of information that may be collected   What type of information may this site collect?
  physical   Information that allows an individual to be contacted or located in the physical world, such as a telephone number or a postal address. Name, address, phone number, or other contact information   agree with you
  online Online Contact Information: Information that allows an individual to be contacted or located on the Internet -- such as email. Often, this information is independent of the specific computer used to access the network. (See the category "Computer Information")  Information that allows an individual to be contacted or located on the Internet, such as an e-mail address. Often, this information is independent of the specific computer used to access the network. Email address or other online contact information   agree with you
  uniqueid Unique Identifiers: Non-financial identifiers, excluding government-issued identifiers, issued for purposes of consistently identifying the individual. These include identifiers issued by a Web site or service.  Unique identifiers issued by a Web site or service for the purpose of identifying an individual over time.  Website login IDs and other identifiers (excluding government IDs and financial account numbers)   agree with you
  purchase Purchase Information: Information actively generated by the purchase of a product or service, including information about the method of payment.  Information generated by the purchase of a product or service, including information about the method of payment. Information about your purchases, including payment methods   agree with you
  financial Financial Information: Information about an individual's finances including account status and activity information such as account balance, payment or overdraft history, and information about an individual's purchase or use of financial instruments including credit or debit card information. Information about a discrete purchase by an individual, as described in "Purchase Information," alone does not come under the definition of "Financial Information."  Information about an individual's finances, including account status, account balance, payment or overdraft history, and information about an individual's purchase or use of financial instruments, including credit cards or debit cards. Financial information such as account balances, payment or overdraft history, and loans   agree with you
  computer Computer Information: Information about the computer system that the individual is using to access the network -- such as the IP number, domain name, browser type or operating system.  Information about the computer system that the individual is using to access the Internet, such as the IP number, domain name, browser type, or operating system.  The kind of computer you are using, the software running on it, and its Internet address   Information about the computer you are using, the software running on it, and its Internet address.
  navigation Navigation and Click-stream Data: Data passively generated by browsing the Web site -- such as which pages are visited, and how long users stay on each page.  Information generated by browsing the Web site, such as which pages are visited, and how long an individual stays on each page.  Which pages you visited on this web site and how long you stayed at each page   agree with you
  interactive Interactive Data: Data actively generated from or reflecting explicit interactions with a service provider through its site -- such as queries to a search engine, or logs of account activity.  Information generated from or reflecting explicit interactions with the Web site, such as queries to a search engine, or logs of account activity. Activities you engaged in at this web site, such as searches you performed or logs of account activity   agree with you
  demographic Demographic and Socioeconomic Data: Data about an individual's characteristics -- such as gender, age, and income. Demographic and socioeconomic data, , such as gender, age, and income, not tied to an identifiable person.  Your demographic and socioeconomic data, such as gender, age, geographic region, and income   agree with you
  content Content : The words and expressions contained in the body of a communication -- such as the text of email, bulletin board postings, or chat room communications.  The words and expressions contained in the body of a communication. For example, the text of an e-mail message, bulletin board postings, or chat room communications.  The text of email you send to this site, bulletin board postings, chat room communications, etc.   agree with you
  state State Management Mechanisms: Mechanisms for maintaining a stateful session with a user or automatically identifying users who have visited a particular site or accessed particular content previously -- such as HTTP cookies.  Mechanisms, such as HTTP cookies, for maintaining an active connection with an individual or for automatically identifying an individual who has visited a particular site or previously accessed particular content.  Cookies and related mechanisms   Cookies and related mechanisms for identifying an individual on a web site.
  political Political Information: Membership in or affiliation with groups such as religious organizations, trade unions, professional associations, political parties, etc.  Information about membership in or affiliation with groups such as religious organizations, trade unions, professional associations, political parties, etc.  Groups you are a member of such as religious organizations, trade unions, and political parties   agree with you
  health Health Information: information about an individual's physical or mental health, sexual orientation, use or inquiry into health care services or products, and purchase of health care services or products.  Information about an individual's physical or mental health, sexual orientation, use of or inquiry into health care services or products, and purchase of health care services or products. Your health information, including information about purchases of healthcare products and services   agree with you
  preference Preference Data: Data about an individual's likes and dislikes -- such as favorite color or musical tastes.  Data about an individual's likes and dislikes, such as favorite color or musical tastes.  Your preferences   agree with you
  location Location Data: Information that can be used to identify an individual's current physical location and track them as their location changes -- such as GPS position data.  Information, such as global positioning data, that can be used to identify an individual's current physical location and track him as his location changes.  Your current physical location   agree with you
  government Government-issued Identifiers: Identifiers issued by a government for purposes of consistently identifying the individual.  Identifiers issued by a government for purposes of identifying an individual over time, such as a driver s license number, social security number, or passport number. Government-issued identifiers such as social security numbers   agree with you
  other-category Other: Other types of data not captured by the above definitions. (A human readable explanation should be provided in these instances, between the and the tags.)  Other: %User Agents display the policies string here% Other types of data: [include site's human, readable explanation; if site omits human-readable explanation say "not described by site"]   agree with you
  optional (attribute of data elements) indicates whether or not the site requires visitors to submit this data element to access a resource or complete a transaction        
  no the data element is not optional (it is required)   [append to data element or category] (optional)    
  yes the data element is optional        
  required (attribute of purpose and recipients elements) Whether the purpose is a required practice for the site.        
  always The purpose/recipient is always required; users cannot opt-in or opt-out of this use of their data.        
  opt-in Data may be used for this purpose/recipient only when the user affirmatively requests this use -- for example, when a user asks to be added to a mailing list. An affirmative request requires users to take some action specifically to make the request. For example, when users fill out a survey, checking an additional box to request to be added to a mailing list would be considered an affirmative request. However, submitting a survey form that contains a pre-checked mailing list request box would not be considered an affirmative request. In addition, for any purpose that users may affirmatively request, there must also be a way for them to change their minds later and decline -- this MUST be specified at the opturi.   [append to purpose/recipient] -- only if you request this    
  opt-out Data may be used for this purpose/recipient unless the user requests that it not be used in this way. When this value is selected, the service MUST provide clear instructions to users on how to opt-out of this purpose at the opturi. Services SHOULD also provide these instructions or a pointer to these instructions at the point of data collection.   [append to purpose/recipient] -- unless you opt-out