Privacy preferences roaming and enforcement

1. A method for propagating a user's privacy preferences from a service to a browser comprising the steps of:

a user signing up a service provider via a browser that does not have any privacy preferences;

said service provider returning a set of default privacy preferences to said browser;

said user accessing a service consumer site that is communicatively coupled to said service provider;

said service provider sending the user via said service consumer site a user permission prompt for response;

said user returning a permission response and responsive to said returned response, said service consumer site sending an indicator of said user's permission response to said service provider;

responsive to said user's permission response, said user modifying a copy of said set of default privacy preferences on said service provider; and

said service provider returning via said service consumer site said modified privacy preferences to said browser as a response such that said user has a single set of privacy preferences and such that said browser is updated with the modified privacy preferences;

wherein said user's modified privacy preferences are enforced based on said service consumer's site's privacy policies by said service consumer site sending a service request to said service provider, and said service provider evaluating the user's modified privacy preferences against said service consumer site's privacy policies to determine whether said service request is allowed or not allowed.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein said step of modification can be any of:

using a preference editor to edit said set of default privacy preferences and importing the edited privacy preferences into said browser; and

changing said privacy preferences through permission prompts created by any site visited.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:

checking, by said service provider, whether said browser needs to be updated for said modified privacy preferences;

if the check result in said check step is yes, then sending back said modified privacy preferences to said browser via a response header for the user's response;

updating said browser with said modified privacy preferences;

if the check result in said checking step is no, then acknowledging, by said service provider, receipt of the user's permission; and

replying, by said service consumer site, the user's request.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:

checking, by said service provider, whether said browser needs to be updated for said modified privacy preferences;

if the check result in said checking step is yes, then sending a response header from said service provider to said service consumer site;

sending a response header from said service consumer site to said browser;

updating said browser with said modified privacy preferences;

if the check result in said check step is no, then acknowledging, by said service consumer site, receipt of the user's permission; and

replying, by said service consumer site, the user's request.

5. An apparatus for propagating a user's privacy preferences from Web service to Web browser, comprising:

signing up means for a user signing up a service provider via a browser without P 3 P privacy preferences;

returning means for said service provider returning a set of default privacy preferences to said browser;

said service provider sending the user via a reguestor's site a user permission prompt for a response and receiving an indicator of a permission response of said user from said reciuestor's site;

modifying means for said user modifying a copy of said set of default privacy preferences on said service provider;

said service provider returning said modified privacy preferences to said browser as an http response such that said user has a single set of privacy preferences and such that said browser is updated with the modified privacy preferences; and

wherein said user's modified privacy preferences are enforced based on said requestor's site's privacy policies by said requestor's site sending a service reciuest to said service provider, and said service provider evaluating the user's modified privacy preferences against said requestor's site's privacy policies to determine whether said service request is allowed or not allowed.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the user modifies said default privacy preferences by any of:

using a P3P preference editor to edit said default privacy preferences and importing the edited privacy preferences into said browser; and

changing said privacy preferences through permission prompts created by any Web site visited by said user.