About privacy in Expression Media 2
Microsoft is concerned about keeping your personal information confidential and private. The sections in this topic will give you information on what features of Microsoft Expression Media relate to privacy concerns, in addition to how you can help reduce the chance of unwanted distribution of your personal information.
When I use Expression Media 2, what privacy issues should I consider?
We recommend that you distribute Expression Media catalogs only if you understand the information that they contain and do not consider this information to be confidential or private. Information stored in Expression Media catalogs or media files is visible to those you share the information with, unless you take steps to exclude the data. We also recommend that you take security measures to help protect your catalogs when you store them (such as storing the data in a password-protected location).
What type of information is stored in an Expression Media 2 catalog?
Expression Media catalogs store the following types of information:
Annotations Users enter annotations in Expression Media or they are entered in another application and imported into Expression Media. The term annotations includes all fields that appear in the annotations section of Expression Media, in addition to the Keywords, Categories, People, Scenes, Subject Codes, Catalog Sets, and Custom Fields.
Hierarchical Keywords Expression Media catalogs store the relationship between keywords shown in the Hierarchical Keywords section of the Organize panel.
EXIF/GPS metadata EXIF information is typically captured automatically by a digital camera or scanner. Examples of EXIF data include the make and model of a digital camera or the shutter speed at which a photograph was taken. Global Positioning System (GPS) data is location information captured by some digital cameras. A GPS location can also be set using the Virtual Earth feature of Expression Media.
File paths File paths include file names, folder names, and volume names.
What information is stored in media files?
Media files can store annotations, hierarchical keyword information, and EXIF/GPS metadata.
What should I know regarding embedding hierarchical keywords?
If you select the Include hierarchical keywords option, the keyword hierarchy is embedded in a nonstandard XMP namespace, in addition to embedding standard keyword information. Many other applications do not use this XMP namespace. Deleting keywords in most other applications will remove only the standard keywords. Do not select Include hierarchical keywords if confidential or personal information is stored in the keywords. It is not required that you select Include hierarchical keywords to embed standard keywords in media files. This option is needed only to preserve the hierarchy of the keywords.
What does the Sync Annotations (Action menu) command do in Expression Media 2?
The Sync Annotations command gives you the following options:
Choosing Export annotations to original files embeds annotations in the media files.
Custom fields will be embedded in media files only if you select the Include custom fields option.
Catalog sets will be embedded in media files only if you select the Include catalog sets option.
GPS location will be embedded in media files only if you select the Include GPS fields option.
What options do I have to reduce information stored in media files created with Expression Media 2?
Export features in Expression Media include options that enable the exclusion of potentially confidential or private information in exported files. The options in the following table let you select which metadata to exclude:
Export Feature |
Method to Exclude Metadata |
|---|---|
Convert Image Files (Action menu) |
Do not select the Embed annotations or Preserve EXIF/GPS metadata options. You can embed annotations other than Custom Fields, Catalog Sets, and Hierarchical Keyword information in media files by selecting Embed annotations but not selecting Include custom fields, Include catalog sets, and Include hierarchical keywords. |
HTML Gallery (Make menu) |
Do not select the Embed annotations or Preserve EXIF/GPS metadata options on the Settings tab. You can embed annotations other than Custom Fields, Catalog Sets, and Hierarchical Keyword information in media files by selecting Embed annotations but not selecting Include custom fields, Include catalog sets, and Include hierarchical keywords. |
Send E-mail button |
Do not select the Embed metadata in media attachments option (this metadata includes annotations and EXIF/GPS metadata). You can embed annotations other than Custom Fields, Catalog Sets, and Hierarchical Keyword information in media files by selecting Embed annotations but not selecting Include custom fields, Include catalog sets, and Include hierarchical keywords. |
Image Editor button |
Do not select the Preserve EXIF/GPS metadata option. |