Yahoo! Messenger for PC (version 9.x)
Yahoo! Messenger allows you to exchange instant messages and PC-to-PC voice calls with your online friends. If you subscribe to the Phone In or Phone Out premium services, you can also use Messenger to make or receive calls from regular telephones.
You must be a registered Yahoo! user in order to use Yahoo! Messenger. Yahoo! Messenger establishes a connection to the Internet when it is active -- much like a browser does -- in order for communications to be received and transmitted.
Information Collection and Use Practices
- Yahoo! Messenger automatically checks for updates to Yahoo! software.
- Yahoo! Messenger’s auto-update feature offers the ability to download the next available version in the background.
- When the file is ready for installation, you’ll be given the choice to install immediately or wait until another time.
- Yahoo! Messenger offers the auto update feature by default. You have the option to be notified prior to auto-update as well.
- You can change your auto-update options by choosing Messenger > Preferences > Alerts & Sounds.
- You can establish a friend list within Messenger and be added to other users' friend lists.
- Yahoo! allows users to save messages so that they may retain records of their instant messaging communications.
- By default, Yahoo! Messenger will archive your message history for the current session, until you sign out. When that that session ends, the message archive will be deleted.
- To change your archiving preferences in Messenger, choose Messenger > Preferences > Archive
- Please be aware that even if you choose not to save your message history, members you correspond with may opt to use the functionality available in their version of Messenger to save the communications. Also note that some versions of Yahoo! Messenger allow other users to save their conversations with you to their account on Yahoo! servers, just like email. Get more information regarding Message History by visiting Yahoo! Messenger Help.
- You can delete your archived messages by selecting the message, and clicking on the “Delete” button. However, this does not delete any of your conversations saved by other users.
- Messenger automatically identifies phone numbers and email addresses included in messages so you can quickly save them to your Yahoo! Address Book or take other actions, such as sending an email. This is a function carried out by the Messenger client on your computer and is not done by Yahoo! servers.
- Messenger gives you the opportunity to report instant messages you receive as spam. If you choose to report spam, Yahoo! will be sent information about the conversation including the Yahoo! ID of the member being reported, text of the conversation, and your Yahoo! ID.
- When you invite someone to use Messenger using our form (as opposed to add someone as a friend to your friend list), you will need to provide that person's email address. Information collected on that form will only be used to send an email on your behalf and will not be used for any marketing purposes.
- Voice
- By default any other member using Messenger may send you PC-to-PC calls. You can change your preferences so that you only receive calls from members on your friends list.
- Yahoo! does not save PC-to-PC calls and other voice communications that go through our servers. However, the voice mails you record for other members are stored on Yahoo! servers. Yahoo!'s practice is to not use the content of those voice mail messages.
- If you are using the premium Phone In product in conjunction with Yahoo! Messenger, people using a normal phone will be able to call you in Yahoo! Messenger using your Phone In phone number.
- If you use the premium Phone In or Phone Out services, Yahoo! will store a call history on your personal Yahoo! Voice Services page.
Information Sharing and Disclosure Practices
- By using Messenger, you may choose to make some of your personal information public or you may choose to share some of your personal information with others.
- If you post personal information online that is accessible to the public, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return.
- By default, your online status (whether you appear online or offline) will be visible to other Messenger users who have you on their friends list and on web pages with an online presence indicator.
- You can choose to appear offline by signing in as “invisible.”
- You can selectively appear online or offline to specific friends or groups of friends on Messenger using the Stealth Settings option.
- You can choose to appear offline and block a user from sending you messages using the “ignore” option.
- You can choose to always appear offline on web pages by editing your preferences in Messenger or Yahoo! Profiles
- In Messenger, choose Messenger > Preferences > Privacy and uncheck the box to allow Yahoo! web sites to show when you are online
- In Yahoo! Profiles settings, check the box to hide your online status from other users
- Messenger sometimes uses a peer-to-peer connection during its operation, including times when you may be using it for instant messaging (text conversations), file sharing, PC-to-PC calling and webcam streaming. Peer-to-peer means that your computer connects directly to the other user's computer in the conversation without needing to go through Yahoo! servers. As such, your IP address is available to users you share a peer-to-peer connection with.
- Voice
- If you are using our premium Phone Out Voice service to make calls from Yahoo! Messenger to normal telephones, your caller ID (telephone number and your name) may be shared with the receiving end. To mask your number in caller ID, in Messenger choose Messenger > Preferences > Calling & Devices tab.
Practices Regarding Your Ability to Update or Delete Information
- You can edit your Messenger settings and preferences through the Messenger menu.
- Voice
- Messenger automatically stores a record of calls made and received.
- To review your call history while using Yahoo! Messenger, visit Yahoo! Voice and choose “My Call History.”
- Billing
- To view, edit or cancel Yahoo! premium Voice services you have ordered, please visitYahoo! Voice and click on “My Services.”. It includes information about services you currently subscribe to, payment scheduling and payment history.
Other
This page describes current Yahoo! practices with respect to this particular service. This information may change as Yahoo! revises this service by adding or removing features or using different service providers. To find out how Yahoo! treats your personal information, please visit our Privacy Policy.