What is a Privacy Policy or P3P?
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) defines P3P as follows on their Platform for Privacy Preferences (P3P) Project page:
“The Platform for Privacy Preferences Project (P3P) enables Websites to express their privacy practices in a standard format that can be retrieved automatically and interpreted easily by user agents. P3P user agents will allow users to be informed of site practices (in both machine- and human-readable formats) and to automate decision-making based on these practices when appropriate. Thus users need not read the privacy policies at every site they visit.”
What all that means is that a web site’s privacy policy is done in a standard format so that your browser and other software can read it. When you set your browser’s security settings, it uses that information to compare to the site you typed in or clicked to. Most browser’s look at a site’s privacy policy and determine how that site handles cookies.
How do I see a web site’s P3P?
In Avant Browser, click View > Privacy Report…
In Internet Explorer, click View > Web Page Privacy Policy…
In Firefox, click Tools > Page Info > Security
Does my web site need it’s own P3P?
HAI always recommends a P3P be added to a site and we usually include one in our quote to a new client, especially if the client is a business or plans to sell anything via their site. Sometimes a P3P isn’t done during the initial design of a site in order to keep costs down, or because the site is related to a hobby, etc. A P3P can always be added to a site at a later date!
My site doesn’t have a P3P, how can I get one?
If you are an HAI client, just ask. Since we are familiar with your site and your data collection practices, we can easily add one.
If you are not an HAI client, just give us a call and we’ll discuss your data collection practices, review your site, and give you an estimate to add one.
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