Microsoft Privacy Statement

Microsoft collects data from you, through our interactions with you and through our products for a variety of purposes described below, including to operate effectively and provide you with the best experiences with our products. You provide some of this data directly, such as when you create a Microsoft account, administer your organization’s licensing account, submit a search query to Bing, register for a Microsoft event, upload a document to OneDrive, sign up for Microsoft 365, or contact us for support. We get some of it by collecting data about your interactions, use, and experience with our products and communications. In addition, we receive data from Microsoft affiliates, subsidiaries, and third parties.

We rely on a variety of legal reasons and permissions (sometimes called “legal bases”) to process data, including with your consent, a balancing of legitimate interests, necessity to enter into and perform contracts, and compliance with legal obligations, for a variety of purposes described below.

We also obtain data from third parties. We protect data obtained from third parties according to the practices described in this statement, plus any additional restrictions imposed by the source of the data. These third-party sources vary over time and include:

• Data brokers from which we purchase demographic data to supplement the data we collect.
• Services that make user-generated content from their service available to others, such as local business reviews or public social media posts.
• Communication services, including email providers and social networks, when you give us permission to access your data on such third-party services or networks.
• Service providers that help us determine your device’s location.
• Partners with which we offer co-branded services or engage in joint marketing activities.
• Developers who create experiences through or for Microsoft products.
• Third parties that deliver experiences through Microsoft products.
• Publicly-available sources, such as open public sector, academic, and commercial data sets and other data sources.

If you represent an organization, such as a business or school, that utilizes Enterprise and Developer Products from Microsoft, please see the Enterprise and developer products section of this privacy statement to learn how we process your data. If you are an end user of a Microsoft product or a Microsoft account provided by your organization, please see the Products provided by your organization and the Microsoft account sections for more information.

You have choices when it comes to the technology you use and the data you share. When you are asked to provide personal data, you can decline. Many of our products require some personal data to operate and provide you with a service. If you choose not to provide data required to operate and provide you with a product or feature, you cannot use that product or feature. Likewise, where we need to collect personal data by law or to enter into or carry out a contract with you, and you do not provide the data, we will not be able to enter into the contract; or if this relates to an existing product you’re using, we may have to suspend or cancel it. We will notify you if this is the case at the time. Where providing the data is optional, and you choose not to share personal data, features like personalization that use the data will not work for you.

The data we collect depends on the context of your interactions with Microsoft and the choices you make (including your privacy settings), the products and features you use, your location, and applicable law.

The data we collect can include the following:

Name and contact data. Your first and last name, email address, postal address, phone number, and other similar contact data.

Credentials. Passwords, password hints, and similar security information used for authentication and account access.

Demographic data. Data about you such as your age, gender, country, and preferred language.

Payment data. Data to process payments, such as your payment instrument number (such as a credit card number) and the security code associated with your payment instrument.

Subscription and licensing data. Information about your subscriptions, licenses, and other entitlements.

Interactions. Data about your use of Microsoft products. In some cases, such as search queries, this is data you provide in order to make use of the products. In other cases, such as error reports, this is data we generate. Other examples of interactions data include:

• Device and usage data. Data about your device and the product and features you use, including information about your hardware and software, how our products perform, as well as your settings. For example:
  • Payment and account history. Data about the items you purchase and activities associated with your account.
  • Browse history. Data about the webpages you visit.
  • Device, connectivity, and configuration data. Data about your device, your device configuration, and nearby networks. For example, data about the operating systems and other software installed on your device, including product keys. In addition, IP address, device identifiers (such as the IMEI number for phones), regional and language settings, and information about WLAN access points near your device.
  • Error reports and performance data. Data about the performance of the products and any problems you experience, including error reports. Error reports (sometimes called “crash dumps”) can include details of the software or hardware related to an error, contents of files opened when an error occurred, and data about other software on your device.
  • Troubleshooting and help data. Data you provide when you contact Microsoft for help, such as the products you use, and other details that help us provide support. For example, contact or authentication data, the content of your chats and other communications with Microsoft, data about the condition of your device, and the products you use related to your help inquiry. When you contact us, such as for customer support, phone conversations or chat sessions with our representatives may be monitored and recorded.
  • Bot usage data. Interactions with bots and skills available through Microsoft products, including bots and skills provided by third parties.
• Interests and favorites. Data about your interests and favorites, such as the sports teams you follow, the programming languages you prefer, the stocks you track, or cities you add to track things like weather or traffic. In addition to those you explicitly provide, your interests and favorites can also be inferred or derived from other data we collect, such as your interactions on websites where our technology is used to show or measure ads.
• Content consumption data. Information about media content (e.g., TV, video, music, audio, text books, apps, and games) you access through our products.
• Searches and commands. Search queries and commands when you use Microsoft products with search or related productivity functionality, such as interactions with a chat bot.
• Voice data. Your voice data, sometimes referred to as “voice clips”, such as search queries, commands, or dictation you speak, which may include background sounds.
• Text, inking, and typing data. Text, inking, and typing data and related information. For example, when we collect inking data, we collect information about the placement of your inking instrument on your device.
• Images. Images and related information, such as picture metadata. For example, we collect the image you provide when you use a Bing image-enabled service.
• Contacts and relationships. Data about your contacts and relationships if you use a product to share information with others, manage contacts, communicate with others, or improve your productivity.
• Social data. Information about your relationships and interactions between you, other people, and organizations, such as types of engagement (e.g., likes, dislikes, events, etc.) related to people and organizations.
• Location data. Data about your device’s location, which can be either precise or imprecise. For example, we collect location data using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (e.g., GPS) and data about nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots. Location can also be inferred from a device’s IP address or data in your account profile that indicates where it is located with less precision, such as at a city or postal code level.
• Other input. Other inputs provided when you use our products. For example, data such as the buttons you press on an Xbox wireless controller using the Xbox network, skeletal tracking data when you use Kinect, and other sensor data, like the number of steps you take, when you use devices that have applicable sensors. If you attend an in-store event, we collect the data you provide to us when registering for or during the event and if you enter into a prize promotion, we collect the data you input into the entry form.

Content. Content of your files and communications you input, upload, receive, create, and control. For example, if you transmit a file using Skype to another Skype user, we need to collect the content of that file to display it to you and the other user. If you receive an email using Outlook.com, we need to collect the content of that email to deliver it to your inbox, display it to you, enable you to reply to it, and store it for you until you choose to delete it. Other content we collect when providing products to you include:

• Communications, including audio, video, text (typed, inked, dictated, or otherwise), in a message, email, call, meeting request, or chat.
• Photos, images, songs, movies, software, and other media or documents you store, retrieve, or otherwise process with our cloud.

Video or recordings. Recordings of events and activities at Microsoft buildings, retail spaces, and other locations. If you enter Microsoft Store locations or other facilities, or attend a Microsoft event that is recorded, we may process your image and voice data.

Feedback and ratings. Information you provide to us and the content of messages you send to us, such as feedback, survey data, and product reviews you write.

Traffic data. Data generated through your use of Microsoft’s communications services. Traffic data indicates with whom you have communicated and when your communications occurred. We will process your traffic data only as required to provide, maintain, and improve our communications services and we do so with your consent.

Product-specific sections below describe data collection practices applicable to use of those products.

Microsoft uses the data we collect to provide you rich, interactive experiences. In particular, we use data to:

• Provide our products, which includes updating, securing, and troubleshooting, as well as providing support. It also includes sharing data, when it is required to provide the service or carry out the transactions you request.
• Improve and develop our products.
• Personalize our products and make recommendations.
• Advertise and market to you, which includes sending promotional communications, targeting advertising, and presenting you relevant offers.

We also use the data to operate our business, which includes analyzing our performance, meeting our legal obligations, developing our workforce, and doing research.

For these purposes, we combine data we collect from different contexts (for example, from your use of two Microsoft products). For example, Microsoft Store uses information about the apps and services you use to make personalized app recommendations. However, we have built in technological and procedural safeguards designed to prevent certain data combinations where required by law. For example, where required by law, we store data we collect from you when you are unauthenticated (not signed in) separately from any account information that directly identifies you, such as your name, email address, or phone number.

Our processing of personal data for these purposes includes both automated and manual (human) methods of processing. Our automated methods often are related to and supported by our manual methods. For example, to build, train, and improve the accuracy of our automated methods of processing (including artificial intelligence or AI), we manually review some of the output produced by the automated methods against the underlying data.

As part of our efforts to improve and develop our products, we may use your data to develop and train our AI models. Learn more here.

Purposes and legal bases for processing

When we process personal data about you, we do so with your consent and/or as required to provide the products you use, operate our business, meet our contractual and legal obligations, protect the security and safety of our systems and our customers, or fulfill other legitimate interests of Microsoft or third parties as described in this section and in the Reasons we share personal data section of this privacy statement. Our bases for processing your personal data may vary depending on how and across what products and services we process your data. 

When we process personal data based on our or a third party’s legitimate interests, we consider and balance those interests against your rights and freedoms, and we will only process your personal data where the legitimate interests we have in processing are not outweighed by your interests.

When we transfer personal data from the European Economic Area, we do so based on a variety of legal mechanisms, as described in the Where we store and process personal data section of this privacy statement.

More on the purposes of processing:

• Provide our products. We use data to operate our products and provide you with rich, interactive experiences. For example, if you use OneDrive, we process the documents you upload to OneDrive to enable you to retrieve, delete, edit, forward, or otherwise process it, at your direction as part of the service. Or, for example, if you enter a search query in the Bing search engine, we use that query to display search results to you. Additionally, as communications are a feature of various products, programs, and activities, we use data to contact you. For example, we may contact you by phone or email or other means to inform you when a subscription is ending or discuss your licensing account. We also communicate with you to secure our products, for example by letting you know when product updates are available.
• Product improvement. We use data to continually improve our products, including adding new features or capabilities. For example, we use error reports to improve security features, search queries and clicks in Bing to improve the relevancy of the search results, usage data to determine what new features to prioritize, and voice data to develop and improve speech recognition accuracy.
• Personalization. Many products include personalized features, such as recommendations that enhance your productivity and enjoyment. These features use automated processes to tailor your product experiences based on the data we have about you, such as inferences we make about you and your use of the product, activities, interests, and location. For example, depending on your settings, if you stream movies in a browser on your Windows device, you may see a recommendation for an app from the Microsoft Store that streams more efficiently. If you have a Microsoft account, with your permission, we can sync your settings on several devices. Many of our products provide controls to disable personalized features.
• Product activation. We use data—such as device and application type, location, and unique device, application, network, and subscription identifiers—to activate products that require activation.
• Product development. We use data to develop new products. For example, we use data, often de-identified, to better understand our customers’ computing and productivity needs, and to train and fine-tune AI models, which can shape the development of new products.  
• Customer support. We use data to troubleshoot and diagnose product problems, repair customers’ devices, and provide other customer care and support services, including to help us provide, improve, and secure the quality of our products, services, and training, and to investigate security incidents. Call recording data may also be used to authenticate or identify you based on your voice to enable Microsoft to provide support services and investigate security incidents.
• Help secure and troubleshoot. We use data to help secure and troubleshoot our products. This includes using data to protect the security and safety of our products and customers, detecting malware and malicious activities, troubleshooting performance and compatibility issues to help customers get the most out of their experiences, and notifying customers of updates to our products. This may include using automated systems to detect security and safety issues.
• Safety. We use data to protect the safety of our products and our customers. Our security features and products can disrupt the operation of malicious software and notify users if malicious software is found on their devices. For example, some of our products, such as Outlook.com or OneDrive, systematically scan content in an automated manner to identify suspected spam, viruses, abusive actions, or URLs that have been flagged as fraud, phishing, or malware links; and we reserve the right to block delivery of a communication or remove content if it violates our terms. In accordance with European Union Regulation (EU) 2021/1232, we have invoked the derogation permitted by that Regulation from Articles 5(1) and 6(1) of EU Directive 2002/58/EC. We use scanning technologies to create digital signatures (known as “hashes”) of certain images and video content on our systems. These technologies then compare the hashes they generate with hashes of reported child sexual exploitation and abuse imagery (known as a “hash set”), in a process called “hash matching”. Microsoft obtains hash sets from organizations that act in the public interest against child sex abuse. This can result in sharing information with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and law enforcement authorities.
• Updates. We use data we collect to develop product updates and security patches. For example, we may use information about your device’s capabilities, such as available memory, to provide you a software update or security patch. Updates and patches are intended to maximize your experience with our products, help you protect the privacy and security of your data, provide new features, and evaluate whether your device is ready to process such updates.
• Promotional communications. We use data we collect to deliver promotional communications. You can sign up for email subscriptions and choose whether you wish to receive promotional communications from Microsoft by email, SMS, physical mail, and telephone. For information about managing your contact data, email subscriptions, and promotional communications, see the How to access and control your personal data section of this privacy statement.
• Relevant offers. Microsoft uses data to provide you with relevant and valuable information regarding our products. We analyze data from a variety of sources to predict the information that will be most interesting and relevant to you and deliver such information to you in a variety of ways. For example, we may predict your interest in gaming and communicate with you about new games you may like.
• Advertising. Microsoft does not use what you say in email, human-to-human chat, video calls, or voice mail, or your documents, photos, or other personal files to target ads to you. We use data we collect through our interactions with you, through some of our first-party products, services, apps, and web properties (Microsoft properties), and on third-party web properties, for advertising on our Microsoft properties and on third-party properties. We may use automated processes to help make advertising more relevant to you. For more information about how your data is used for advertising, see the Advertising section of this privacy statement.
• Prize promotions and events. We use your data to administer prize promotions and events available in our physical Microsoft Stores. For example, if you enter into a prize promotion, we may use your data to select a winner and provide the prize to you if you win. Or, if you register for a coding workshop or gaming event, we will add your name to the list of expected attendees.
• Transacting commerce. We use data to carry out your transactions with us. For example, we process payment information to provide customers with product subscriptions and use contact information to deliver goods purchased from the Microsoft Store.
• Reporting and business operations. We use data to analyze our operations and perform business intelligence. This enables us to make informed decisions and report on the performance of our business.
• Protecting rights and property. We use data to detect and prevent fraud, resolve disputes, enforce agreements, and protect our property. For example, we use data to confirm the validity of software licenses to reduce piracy. We may use automated processes to detect and prevent activities that violate our rights and the rights of others, such as fraud.
• Legal compliance. We process data to comply with applicable laws. For example, we use the age of our customers to assist us in meeting our obligations to protect children’s privacy. We also process contact information and credentials to help customers exercise their data protection rights.
• Research. With appropriate technical and organizational measures to safeguard individuals’ rights and freedoms, we use data to conduct research, including advanced machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities for the benefit of the public interest and scientific purposes.

We share your personal data with your consent or as necessary to complete any transaction or provide any product you have requested or authorized. For example, we share your content with third parties when you tell us to do so, such as when you send an email to a friend, share photos and documents on OneDrive, or link accounts with another service. If you use a Microsoft product provided by an organization you are affiliated with, such as an employer or school, or use an email address provided by such organization to access Microsoft products, we share certain data, such as interaction data and diagnostic data to enable your organization to manage the products. When you provide payment data to make a purchase, we will share payment data with banks and other entities that process payment transactions or provide other financial services, and for fraud prevention and credit risk reduction. Additionally, when you save a payment method (such as a card) to your account that you and other Microsoft account holders use to make purchases from Microsoft or its affiliates, your purchase receipts may be shared with anyone else who uses and has access to the same payment method to make a purchase from Microsoft, including the payment method’s named accountholder. When you permit push notifications for Microsoft products or applications on a non-Windows device, the operating system of that device will process some personal data to provide push notifications. Accordingly, Microsoft may send data to an external, third-party notification provider to deliver push notifications. Your device’s push notification services are governed by their own service-specific terms and privacy statements.

We also share personal data for digital advertising purposes. When you visit a website or use an app that wants to show you ads, the digital property may allow Microsoft to access or receive device data or certain other data identified in the Personal data we collect section above. We may then share this information with third party advertising platforms and advertisers to facilitate the delivery and measurement of ads on such digital properties.  Please see the Advertising and U.S. State Data Privacy sections below for more information about how your data is used for advertising.

In addition, we share personal data among Microsoft-controlled affiliates and subsidiaries. We also share personal data with vendors or agents working on our behalf for the purposes described in this statement. For example, companies we've hired to provide customer service support or assist in protecting and securing our systems and services may need access to personal data to provide those functions. In such cases, these companies must abide by our data privacy and security requirements and are not allowed to use personal data they receive from us for any other purpose. We may also disclose personal data as part of a corporate transaction such as a merger or sale of assets.

Finally, we will retain, access, transfer, disclose, and preserve personal data, including your content (such as the content of your emails in Outlook.com, or files in private folders on OneDrive), when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to do any of the following:

• Comply with applicable law or respond to valid legal process, including from law enforcement or other government agencies.
• Protect the safety of our customers, organizations, and the public — for example, to prevent spam or attempts to defraud or otherwise cause harm, or to detect, prevent, and combat harmful or illegal behavior including the creation and sharing of harmful or illegal content.
• Operate and maintain the security of our products, including to prevent or stop an attack on our computer systems or networks.
• Protect the rights or property of Microsoft, including enforcing the terms governing the use of the services—however, if we receive information indicating that someone is using our services to traffic in stolen intellectual or physical property of Microsoft, we will not inspect a customer's private content ourselves, but we may refer the matter to law enforcement.

For more information about data we disclose in response to requests from law enforcement and other government agencies, please see our Law Enforcement Requests Report.

Please note that some of our products include links to or otherwise enable you to access products of third parties whose privacy practices differ from those of Microsoft. If you provide personal data to any of those products, your data is governed by their privacy policies.

You can also make choices about the collection and use of your data by Microsoft. You can control your personal data that Microsoft has obtained, and exercise your data protection rights, by contacting Microsoft or using various tools we provide. In some cases, your ability to access or control your personal data will be limited, as required or permitted by applicable law. How you can access or control your personal data will also depend on which products you use. For example, you can:

• Control the use of your data for personalized advertising from Microsoft by visiting our opt-out page.
• Choose whether you wish to receive promotional emails, SMS messages, telephone calls, and postal mail from Microsoft.
• Access and clear some of your data through the Microsoft privacy dashboard.

Not all personal data processed by Microsoft can be accessed or controlled via the tools above. If you want to access or control personal data processed by Microsoft that is not available via the tools above or directly through the Microsoft products you use, you can always contact Microsoft at the address in the How to contact us section or by using our web form.

We provide aggregate metrics about user requests to exercise their data protection rights via the Microsoft Privacy Report.

You can access and control your personal data that Microsoft has obtained with tools Microsoft provides to you, which are described below, or by contacting Microsoft. For instance:

• If Microsoft obtained your consent to use your personal data, you can withdraw that consent at any time.
• You can request access to, erasure of, and updates to your personal data.
• If you’d like to port your data elsewhere, you can use tools Microsoft provides to do so, or if none are available, you can contact Microsoft for assistance.

You can also object to or restrict the use of your personal data by Microsoft. For example, you can object at any time to our use of your personal data:

• For direct marketing purposes.
• Where we are performing a task in the public interest or pursuing our legitimate interests or those of a third party.

You may have these rights under applicable laws, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but we offer them regardless of your location. In some cases, your ability to access or control your personal data will be limited, as required or permitted by applicable law.

If your organization, such as your employer, school, or service provider, provides you with access to and is administering your use of Microsoft products, contact your organization to learn more about how to access and control your personal data.

You can access and control your personal data that Microsoft has obtained, and exercise your data protection rights, using various tools we provide. The tools most useful to you will depend on our interactions with you and your use of our products. Here is a general list of tools we provide to help you control your personal data; specific products may provide additional controls.

• Bing. If you are signed into Bing, you can view and clear your stored search and chat history on your privacy dashboard. If you are not signed into Bing, you can view and clear stored search history associated to your device in your Bing settings.
• Microsoft account. If you wish to access, edit, or remove the profile information and payment information in your Microsoft account, change your password, add security information or close your account, you can do so by visiting the Microsoft account website.
• If you have a Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) public profile, you can access and edit your data by signing in at MSDN forum.
• Microsoft privacy dashboard. You can control some of the data Microsoft processes through your use of a Microsoft account on the Microsoft privacy dashboard. From here, for example, you can view and clear the browsing, search, and location data associated with your Microsoft account.
• Microsoft Store. You can access your Microsoft Store profile and account information by visiting Microsoft Store and selecting View account or Order history.
• Microsoft Teams for personal use. You can find out how to export or delete Teams data relating to your personal Microsoft account by visiting this page.
• OneDrive. You can view, download, and delete your files and photos in OneDrive by signing into your OneDrive.
• Outlook.com. You can download your emails in Outlook.com by signing into your account and navigating to your Privacy and data settings.
• Skype. If you wish to access, edit, or remove some profile and payment information for Skype or change your password, sign in to your account. If you wish to export your Skype chat history and files shared on Skype, you can request a copy.
• Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC). If you are a Volume Licensing customer, you can control your contact information and subscription and licensing data in one location by visiting the Volume Licensing Service Center website.
• Xbox. If you use the Xbox network or Xbox.com, you can view or edit your personal data, including billing and account information, privacy settings, and online safety and data sharing preferences by accessing My Xbox on the Xbox console or on the Xbox.com website.

Not all personal data processed by Microsoft can be accessed or controlled via the tools above. If you want to access or control personal data processed by Microsoft that is not available via the tools above or directly through the Microsoft products you use, you can always contact Microsoft at the address in the How to contact us section or by using our web form. We will respond to requests to control your personal data as required by applicable law.

Your communications preferences

You can choose whether you wish to receive promotional communications from Microsoft by email, SMS, physical mail, and telephone. If you receive promotional email or SMS messages from us and would like to opt out, you can do so by following the directions in that message. You can also make choices about the receipt of promotional email, telephone calls, and postal mail by signing in with your personal Microsoft account, and viewing your communication permissions where you can update contact information, manage Microsoft-wide contact preferences, opt out of email subscriptions, and choose whether to share your contact information with Microsoft partners. If you do not have a personal Microsoft account, you can manage your Microsoft email contact preferences by using this web form. These choices do not apply to mandatory service communications that are part of certain Microsoft products, programs, activities, or to surveys or other informational communications that have their own unsubscribe method.

Your advertising choices

To opt out of receiving personalized advertising from Microsoft, including Xandr, visit our opt-out page. When you opt out, your preference is stored in a cookie that is specific to the web browser you are using. The opt-out cookie has an expiration date of five years. If you delete the cookies on your device, you need to opt out again.

You can also link your opt-out choice with your personal Microsoft account. It will then apply on any device where you use that account and will continue to apply until someone signs in with a different personal Microsoft account on that device. If you delete the cookies on your device, you will need to sign in again for the settings to apply. You can view our third party ad partners on the U.S. State Data Privacy Laws Notice, and opt-out of data sharing with third parties at our opt-out page.

For Microsoft-controlled advertising that appears in apps on Windows, you may use the opt-out linked to your personal Microsoft account, or opt out of interest-based advertising by turning off the advertising ID in Windows settings.

Because the data used for interest-based advertising is also used for other required purposes (including providing our products, analytics, and fraud detection), opting out of interest-based advertising does not stop that data collection. You will continue to get ads, although they may be less relevant to you.

You can opt out of receiving interest-based advertising from third parties we partner with by visiting their sites (see above).

Browser-based controls

When you use a browser, you can control your personal data using certain features. For example:

• Cookie controls. You can control the data stored by cookies and withdraw consent to cookies by using the browser-based cookie controls described in the Cookies section of this privacy statement.
• Tracking protections. You can control the data third-party sites can collect about you using Tracking Protection in Internet Explorer (versions 9 and up) and Microsoft Edge. This feature will block third-party content, including cookies, from any site that is listed in a Tracking Protection List you add.
• Browser controls for "Do Not Track." Some browsers have incorporated "Do Not Track" (DNT) features that can send a signal to the websites you visit indicating you do not wish to be tracked. Because there is not yet a common understanding of how to interpret the DNT signal, Microsoft services do not currently respond to browser DNT signals. We continue to work with the online industry to define a common understanding of how to treat DNT signals. In the meantime, you can use the range of other tools we provide to control data collection and use, including the ability to opt out of receiving interest-based advertising from Microsoft as described above.

Cookies are small text files placed on your device to store data that can be recalled by a web server in the domain that placed the cookie. This data often consists of a string of numbers and letters that uniquely identifies your computer, but it can contain other information as well. Some cookies are placed by third parties acting on our behalf. We use cookies and similar technologies to store and honor your preferences and settings, enable you to sign-in, provide interest-based advertising, combat fraud, analyze how our products perform, and fulfill other legitimate purposes described below. Microsoft apps use additional identifiers, such as the advertising ID in Windows, for similar purposes, and many of our websites and applications also contain web beacons or other similar technologies, as described below.

Our use of cookies and similar technologies

Microsoft uses cookies and similar technologies for several purposes, depending on the context or product, including:

• Storing your preferences and settings. We use cookies to store your preferences and settings on your device, and to enhance your experiences. For example, depending on your settings, if you enter your city or postal code to get local news or weather information on a Microsoft website, we store that data in a cookie so that you will see the relevant local information when you return to the site. Saving your preferences with cookies, such as your preferred language, prevents you from having to set your preferences repeatedly. If you opt out of interest-based advertising, we store your opt-out preference in a cookie on your device. Similarly, in scenarios where we obtain your consent to place cookies on your device, we store your choice in a cookie.
• Sign-in and authentication. We use cookies to authenticate you. When you sign in to a website using your personal Microsoft account, we store a unique ID number, and the time you signed in, in an encrypted cookie on your device. This cookie allows you to move from page to page within the site without having to sign in again on each page. You can also save your sign-in information so you do not have to sign in each time you return to the site.
• Security. We use cookies to process information that helps us secure our products, as well as detect fraud and abuse.
• Storing information you provide to a website. We use cookies to remember information you shared. When you provide information to Microsoft, such as when you add products to a shopping cart on Microsoft websites, we store the data in a cookie for the purpose of remembering the information.
• Social media. Some of our websites include social media cookies, including those that enable users who are signed in to the social media service to share content via that service.
• Feedback. Microsoft uses cookies to enable you to provide feedback on a website.
• Interest-based advertising. Microsoft uses cookies to collect data about your online activity and identify your interests so that we can provide advertising that is most relevant to you. You can opt out of receiving interest-based advertising from Microsoft as described in the How to access and control your personal data section of this privacy statement.
• Showing advertising. Microsoft uses cookies to record how many visitors have clicked on an advertisement and to record which advertisements you have seen, for example, so you do not see the same one repeatedly.
• Analytics. We use first- and third-party cookies and other identifiers to gather usage and performance data. For example, we use cookies to count the number of unique visitors to a web page or service and to develop other statistics about the operations of our products.
• Performance. Microsoft uses cookies to understand and improve how our products perform. For example, we use cookies to gather data that helps with load balancing; this helps us keep our websites remain up and running.

Where required, we obtain your consent prior to placing or using optional cookies that are not (i) strictly necessary to provide the website; or (ii) for the purpose of facilitating a communication. Please see the “How to Control Cookies” section below for more information.

Some of the cookies we commonly use are listed below. This list is not exhaustive, but it is intended to illustrate the primary purposes for which we typically set cookies. If you visit one of our websites, the site will set some or all of the following cookies:

• MSCC. Contains user choices for most Microsoft properties.
• MUID, MC1, MSFPC, and MSPTC. Identifies unique web browsers visiting Microsoft sites. These cookies are used for advertising, site analytics, and other operational purposes.
• ANON. Contains the ANID, a unique identifier derived from your Microsoft account, which is used for advertising, personalization, and operational purposes. It is also used to preserve your choice to opt out of interest-based advertising from Microsoft if you have chosen to associate the opt-out with your Microsoft account.
• CC. Contains a country code as determined from your IP address.
• PPAuth, MSPAuth, MSNRPSAuth, KievRPSAuth, WLSSC, MSPProf. Helps to authenticate you when you sign in with your Microsoft account.
• MC0. Detects whether cookies are enabled in the browser.
• MS0. Identifies a specific session.
• NAP. Contains an encrypted version of your country, postal code, age, gender, language and occupation, if known, based on your Microsoft account profile.
• MH. Appears on co-branded sites where Microsoft is partnering with an advertiser. This cookie identifies the advertiser, so the right ad is selected.
• childinfo, kcdob, kcrelid, kcru, pcfm. Contains information that Microsoft account uses within its pages in relation to child accounts.
• MR. This cookie is used by Microsoft to reset or refresh the MUID cookie.
• x-ms-gateway-slice. Identifies a gateway for load balancing.
• TOptOut. Records your decision not to receive interest-based advertising delivered by Microsoft. Where required, we place this cookie by default and remove it when you consent to interest-based advertising.
• ApplicationGatewayAffinity and ApplicationGatewayAffinityCORS.  These session cookies are used for load balancing purposes and to ensure requests for a user session are handled by the same server.

We may also use the cookies of other Microsoft affiliates, companies, and partners, such as LinkedIn and Xandr.

Third Party Cookies

In addition to the cookies Microsoft sets when you visit our websites, we also use cookies from third parties to enhance the services on our sites. Some third parties can also set cookies when you visit Microsoft sites. For example:

• Companies we hire to provide services on our behalf, such as site analytics, place cookies when you visit our sites.
• Companies that deliver content on Microsoft sites, such as videos or news, or ads, place cookies on their own.

These companies use the data they process in accordance with their privacy policies, which may enable these companies to collect and combine information about your activities across websites, apps, or online services.

The following types of third-party cookies may be used, depending on the context, service or product, as well as your settings and permissions:

• Social Media cookies. We and third parties use social media cookies to show you ads and content based on your social media profiles and activity on our websites. They’re used to connect your activity on our websites to your social media profiles so the ads and content you see on our websites and on social media will better reflect your interests.
• Analytics cookies.We allow third parties to use analytics cookies to understand how you use our websites so we can make them better and the third parties can develop and improve their products, which they may use on websites that are not owned or operated by Microsoft. For example, analytics cookies are used to gather information about the pages you visit and how many clicks you need to accomplish a task. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes.
• Advertising cookies.We and third parties use advertising cookies to show you new ads by recording which ads you've already seen. They're also used to track which ads you click on or purchases you make after clicking on an ad for payment purposes, and to show you ads that are more relevant to you. For example, they're used to detect when you click on an ad and show you ads based on your social media interests and website browsing history.
• Required cookies.We use required cookies to perform essential website functions. For example, to log you in, save your language preferences, provide a shopping cart experience, improve performance, route traffic between web servers, detect the size of your screen, determine page load times, and measure audiences. These cookies are necessary for our websites to work.

Where required, we obtain your consent prior to placing or using optional cookies that are not (i) strictly necessary to provide the website; or (ii) for the purpose of facilitating a communication.

For a list of the third parties that set cookies on our websites, including service providers acting on our behalf, please visit our third party cookie inventory. The third party cookie inventory also includes links to those third parties’ websites or privacy notices. Please consult the third party websites or privacy notices for more information on their privacy practices with respect to their cookies that may be set on our websites. On some of our websites, a list of third parties is available directly on the site. The third parties on these sites may not be included in the list on our third party cookie inventory.

How to control cookies

Most web browsers automatically accept cookies but provide controls that allow you to block or delete them. For example, in Microsoft Edge, you can block or delete cookies by selecting Settings > Privacy and services > Clear Browsing data > Cookies and other site data. For more information about how to delete your cookies in Microsoft browsers, see Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Edge Legacy, or Internet Explorer. If you use a different browser, refer to that browser’s instructions.

As mentioned above, where required, we obtain your consent before placing or using optional cookies that are not (i) strictly necessary to provide the website; or (ii) for the purpose of facilitating a communication. We separate these optional cookies by purpose, such as for advertising and social media purposes. You may consent to certain categories of optional cookies and not others. You also may adjust your choices by clicking “Manage cookies” in the footer of the website or through the settings made available on the website. Certain features of Microsoft products depend on cookies. If you choose to block cookies, you cannot sign in or use some of those features, and preferences that are dependent on cookies will be lost. If you choose to delete cookies, any settings and preferences controlled by those cookies, including advertising preferences, are deleted and will need to be recreated.

Additional privacy controls that can impact cookies, including the tracking protections feature of Microsoft browsers, are described in the How to access and control your personal data section of this privacy statement.

Our use of web beacons and analytics services

Some Microsoft webpages contain electronic tags known as web beacons that we use to help deliver cookies on our websites, count users who have visited those websites, and deliver co-branded products. We also include web beacons or similar technologies in our electronic communications to determine whether you open and act on them.

In addition to placing web beacons on our own websites, we sometimes work with other companies to place our web beacons on their websites or in their advertisements. This helps us to, for example, develop statistics on how often clicking on an advertisement on a Microsoft website results in a purchase or other action on the advertiser's website. It also allows us to understand your activity on the website of a Microsoft partner in connection with your use of a Microsoft product or service.

Finally, Microsoft products often contain web beacons or similar technologies from third-party analytics providers, which help us compile aggregated statistics about the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns or other operations. These technologies enable the analytics providers to set or read their own cookies or other identifiers on your device, through which they can collect information about your online activities across applications, websites, or other products. However, we prohibit these analytics providers from using web beacons on our sites to collect or access information that directly identifies you (such as your name or email address). You can opt out of data collection or use by some of these analytics providers by visiting any of the following sites: Adjust, AppsFlyer, Clicktale, Flurry Analytics, Google Analytics (requires you to install a browser add-on), Kissmetrics, Mixpanel, Nielsen, Acuity Ads, WebTrends, or Optimizely.

Other similar technologies

In addition to standard cookies and web beacons, our products can also use other similar technologies to store and read data files on your computer. This is typically done to maintain your preferences or to improve speed and performance by storing certain files locally. But, like standard cookies, these technologies can also store a unique identifier for your computer, which can then track behavior. These technologies include Local Shared Objects (or "Flash cookies") and Silverlight Application Storage.

Local Shared Objects or "Flash cookies." Websites that use Adobe Flash technologies can use Local Shared Objects or "Flash cookies" to store data on your computer. To learn how to manage or block Flash cookies, go to the Flash Player help page.

Silverlight Application Storage. Websites or applications that use Microsoft Silverlight technology also have the ability to store data by using Silverlight Application Storage. To learn how to manage or block such storage, see the Silverlight section of this privacy statement.

With a Microsoft account, you can sign into Microsoft products, as well as those of select Microsoft partners. Personal data associated with your Microsoft account includes credentials, name and contact data, payment data, device and usage data, your contacts, information about your activities, and your interests and favorites. Signing into your Microsoft account enables personalization, consistent experiences across products and devices, permits you to use cloud data storage, allows you to make payments using payment instruments stored in your Microsoft account, and enables other features. There are three types of Microsoft account:

• When you create your own Microsoft account tied to your personal email address, we refer to that account as a personal Microsoft account.
• When you or your organization (such as an employer or your school) create your Microsoft account tied to your email address provided by that organization, we refer to that account as a work or school account.
• When you or your service provider (such as a cable or internet service provider) create your Microsoft account tied to your email address with your service provider’s domain, we refer to that account as a third-party account.

Personal Microsoft accounts. The data associated with your personal Microsoft account, and how that data is used, depends on how you use the account.

• Creating your Microsoft account. When you create a personal Microsoft account, you will be asked to provide certain personal data and we will assign a unique ID number to identify your account and associated information. While some products, such as those involving payment, require a real name, you can sign in to and use other Microsoft products without providing your real name. Some data you provide, such as your display name, email address, and phone number, can be used to help others find and connect with you within Microsoft products. For example, people who know your display name, email address, or phone number can use it to search for you on Skype or Microsoft Teams for personal use and send you an invite to connect with them. Note that if you use a work or school email address to create a personal Microsoft account, your employer or school may gain access to your data. In some cases, you will need to change the email address to a personal email address in order to continue accessing consumer-oriented products (such as the Xbox network).
• Signing in to Microsoft account. When you sign in to your Microsoft account, we create a record of your sign-in, which includes the date and time, information about the product you signed in to, your sign-in name, the unique number assigned to your account, a unique identifier assigned to your device, your IP address, and your operating system and browser version.
• Signing in to Microsoft products. Signing in to your account enables improved personalization, provides seamless and consistent experiences across products and devices, permits you to access and use cloud data storage, allows you to make payments using payment instruments stored in your Microsoft account, and enables other enhanced features and settings. For example, when you sign in, Microsoft makes information saved to your account available across Microsoft products so important things are right where you need them. When you sign in to your account, you will stay signed in until you sign out. If you add your Microsoft account to a Windows device (version 8 or higher), Windows will automatically sign you in to products that use Microsoft account when you access those products on that device. When you are signed in, some products will display your name or username and your profile photo (if you have added one to your profile) as part of your use of Microsoft products, including in your communications, social interactions, and public posts. Learn more about your Microsoft account, your data, and your choices.
• Signing in to third-party products. If you sign in to a third-party product with your Microsoft account, you will share data with the third party in accordance with the third party’s privacy policy. The third party will also receive the version number assigned to your account (a new version number is assigned each time you change your sign-in data); and information that describes whether your account has been deactivated. If you share your profile data, the third party can display your name or user name and your profile photo (if you have added one to your profile) when you are signed in to that third-party product. If you chose to make payments to third-party merchants using your Microsoft account, Microsoft will pass information stored in your Microsoft account to the third party or its vendors (e.g., payment processors) as necessary to process your payment and fulfill your order (such as name, credit card number, billing and shipping addresses, and relevant contact information). The third party can use or share the data it receives when you sign in or make a purchase according to its own practices and policies. You should carefully review the privacy statement for each product you sign in to and each merchant you purchase from to determine how it will use the data it collects.

Work or school accounts. The data associated with a work or school account, and how it will be used, is generally similar to the use and collection of data associated with a personal Microsoft account.

If your employer or school uses Microsoft Entra ID to manage the account it provides you, you can use your work or school account to sign in to Microsoft products, such as Microsoft 365 and Office 365, and third-party products provided to you by your organization. If required by your organization, you will also be asked to provide a phone number or an alternative email address for additional security verification. And, if allowed by your organization, you may also use your work or school account to sign in to Microsoft or third-party products that you acquire for yourself.

If you sign in to Microsoft products with a work or school account, note:

• The owner of the domain associated with your email address may control and administer your account, and access and process your data, including the contents of your communications and files, including data stored in products provided to you by your organization, and products you acquire by yourself.
• Your use of the products is subject to your organization’s policies, if any. You should consider both your organization’s policies and whether you are comfortable enabling your organization to access your data before you choose to use your work or school account to sign in to products you acquire for yourself.
• If you lose access to your work or school account (if you change employers, for example), you may lose access to products, including content associated with those products, you acquired on your own behalf if you used your work or school account to sign in to such products.
• Microsoft is not responsible for the privacy or security practices of your organization, which may differ from those of Microsoft.
• If your organization is administering your use of Microsoft products, please direct your privacy inquiries, including any requests to exercise your data subject rights, to your administrator. See also the Notice to end users section of this privacy statement.
• If you are uncertain whether your account is a work or school account, please contact your organization.

Third-party accounts. The data associated with a third-party Microsoft account, and how it will be used, is generally similar to the use and collection of data associated with a personal Microsoft account. Your service provider has control over your account, including the ability to access or delete your account. You should carefully review the terms the third party provided you to understand what it can do with your account.

For users under the age of 13 or as specified by law in their jurisdiction, certain Microsoft products and services will either block users under that age or will ask them to obtain consent or authorization from a parent or guardian before they can use it, including when creating an account to access Microsoft services. We will not knowingly ask children under that age to provide more data than is required to provide for the product.

Once parental consent or authorization is granted, the child's account is treated much like any other account. The child can access communication services, like Outlook and Skype, and can freely communicate and share data with other users of all ages. Learn more about parental consent and Microsoft child accounts.

Parents or guardians can change or revoke the consent choices previously made. As the organizer of a Microsoft family group, the parent or guardian can manage their child’s information and settings on their Family Safety page and view and delete a child’s data on their privacy dashboard. Accounts that require parental consent to be created are automatically included as part of the family group of the individual who provided the consent for account creation. For child accounts that do not require parental consent to be created (e.g., for children who are over the age at which parental consent is legally required), the parent or guardian may still use a family group, but must add the child account to their family group after the account is created. See below for more information about how to access and delete child data.

Below is additional information about the collection of data from children, including more details as related to Xbox.

Accessing and deleting child data. For Microsoft products and services that require parental consent, a parent can view and delete certain data belonging to their child from the parent’s privacy dashboard: browsing history, search history, location activity, media activity, apps and service activity, and product and service performance data. To delete this data, a parent can sign in to their privacy dashboard and manage their child’s activities. Please note that a parent’s ability to access and/or delete a child’s personal information on their privacy dashboard will vary depending on the laws where you are located.

Additionally, a parent can contact our privacy support team through the privacy support form and, following authentication, request that the data types on the privacy dashboard together with the following data be deleted: software, setup, and inventory; device connectivity and configuration; feedback and ratings; fitness and activity; support content; support interactions; and environmental sensor. We process authenticated deletion requests within 30 days of receipt.

Please note that content like emails, contacts, and chats are accessible through in-product experiences. You can find more information about data you are able to control within Microsoft products by visiting our Privacy Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).

If your child’s account is not a part of your Microsoft family group and you do not have access to your child’s activity on your privacy dashboard, then you need to submit a request related to your child’s data through the privacy support form. The privacy team will ask for account verification before fulfilling the request.

To delete all of your child’s personal information, you must request deletion of the child’s account through the close your account form. This link will prompt you to sign in with your child’s account credentials. Check that the page shows the correct Microsoft account, and then follow the instructions to request that your child’s account be deleted. Learn more about how to close a Microsoft account.

After you submit the request to close your child’s account, we will wait 60 days before permanently deleting the account in case you change your mind or need to access something on the account before it is permanently closed and deleted. During the waiting period, the account is marked for closure and permanent deletion, but it still exists. If you want to reopen your child’s Microsoft account, just sign in again within that 60-day period. We will cancel the account closure, and the account will be reinstated.

What is Xbox? Xbox is the gaming and entertainment division of Microsoft. Xbox hosts an online network that consists of software and enables online experiences crossing multiple platforms. This network lets your child find and play games, view content, and connect with friends on Xbox and other gaming and social networks.

When users sign in to Xbox, in apps, games or on an Xbox console, we assign a unique identifier to their device. For instance, when their Xbox console is connected to the internet and they sign in to the console, we identify which console and which version of the console’s operating system they are using.

Xbox continues to provide new experiences in client apps that are connected to and backed by services such as Xbox network and cloud gaming. When signed in to an Xbox experience, we collect required data to help keep these experiences safe, secure, up to date, and performing as expected.

Data we collect when you create an Xbox profile. You as the parent or guardian are required to consent to the collection of personal data from a child under 13 years old or as otherwise specified by your jurisdiction. With your permission, your child can have an Xbox profile and use the online Xbox network. During the child Xbox profile creation, you will sign in with your own Microsoft account to verify that you are an adult organizer in your Microsoft family group. We collect an alternate email address or phone number to boost account security. If your child needs help accessing their account, they will be able to use one of these alternates to validate they own the Microsoft account.

We collect limited information about children, including name, birthdate, email address, and region. When you sign your child up for an Xbox profile, they get a gamertag (a public nickname) and a unique identifier. When you create your child’s Xbox profile you consent to Microsoft collecting, using, and sharing information based on their privacy and communication settings on the Xbox online network. Your child’s privacy and communication settings are defaulted to the most restrictive.

Data we collect. We collect information about your child’s use of Xbox services, games, apps, and devices including:

• When they sign in and sign out of Xbox, purchase history, and content they obtain.
• Which games they play and apps they use, their game progress, achievements, play time per game, and other play statistics.
• Performance data about Xbox consoles, Xbox Game Pass and other Xbox apps, the Xbox network, connected accessories, and network connection, including any software or hardware errors.
• Content they add, upload, or share through the Xbox network, including text, pictures, and video they capture in games and apps.
• Social activity, including chat data and interactions with other gamers, and connections they make (friends they add and people who follow them) on the Xbox network.

If your child uses an Xbox console or Xbox app on another device capable of accessing the Xbox network, and that device includes a storage device (hard drive or memory unit), usage data will be stored on the storage device and sent to Microsoft the next time they sign in to Xbox, even if they have been playing offline.

Xbox diagnostic data. If your child uses Xbox console, Xbox will send required data to Microsoft. Required data is the minimum data necessary to help keep Xbox safe, secure, up to date, and performing as expected.

Game captures. Any player in a multiplayer game session can record video (game clips) and capture screenshots of their view of the game play. Other players’ game clips and screenshots can capture your child’s in-game character and gamertag during that session. If a player captures game clips and screenshots on a PC, the resulting game clips might also capture audio chat if your child’s privacy and communication settings on the Xbox online network allow it.

Captioning. During Xbox real-time (“party”) chat, players may activate a voice-to-text feature that lets them view that chat as text. If a player activates this feature, Microsoft uses the resulting text data to provide captioning of chat for players who need it. This data may also be used to provide a safe gaming environment and enforce the Community Standards for Xbox.

Data use. Microsoft uses the data we collect when your child uses Xbox to improve gaming products and experiences— making it safer and more fun over time. Data we collect also enables us to provide your child with curated experiences. This includes connecting them to games, content, services, and recommendations.

Xbox data viewable by others. When your child is using the Xbox network, their online presence (which can be set to “appear offline” or “blocked”), gamertag, game play statistics, and achievements are visible to other players on the network. Depending on how you set your child’s Xbox safety settings, they might share information when playing or communicating with others on the Xbox network.

Safety. In order to help make the Xbox network a safe gaming environment and enforce the Community Standards for Xbox, we may collect and review voice, text, images, videos and in-game content (such as game clips your child uploads, conversations they have, and things they post in clubs and games).

Anti-cheat and fraud prevention. Providing a fair gameplay environment is important to us. We prohibit cheating, hacking, account stealing, and any other unauthorized or fraudulent activity when your child uses an Xbox online game or any network-connected app on their Xbox console, PC, or mobile device. In order to detect and prevent fraud and cheating, we may use anti-cheat and fraud prevention tools, applications, and other technologies. Such technologies may create digital signatures (known as “hashes”) using certain information collected from their Xbox console, PC, or mobile device, and how they use that device. This can include information about the browser, device, activities, game identifiers, and operating system.

Xbox data shared with game and apps publishers. When your child uses an Xbox online game or any network-connected app on their Xbox console, PC, or mobile device, the publisher of that game or app has access to data about their usage to help the publisher deliver, support, and improve its product. This data may include: your child’s Xbox user identifier, gamertag, limited account info such as country and age range, data about your child’s in-game communications, any Xbox enforcement activity, game-play sessions (for example, moves made in-game or types of vehicles used in-game), your child’s presence on the Xbox network, the time they spend playing the game or app, rankings, statistics, gamer profiles, avatars, or gamerpics, friends lists, activity feeds for official clubs they belong to, official club memberships, and any content they create or submit in the game or app.

Third-party publishers and developers of games and apps have their own distinct and independent relationship with users and their collection and usage of personal data is subject to their specific privacy policies. You should carefully review their policies to determine how they use your child’s data. For example, publishers may choose to disclose or display game data (such as on leaderboards) through their own services. You may find their policies linked from the game or app detail pages in our stores.

Learn more at Data Sharing with Games and Apps.

To stop sharing game or app data with a publisher, remove its games or app from all devices where they have been installed. Some publisher access to your child’s data may be revoked at microsoft.com/consent.

Managing child settings. As the organizer of a Microsoft family group, you can manage a child’s information and settings on their Family Safety page, as well as their Xbox profile privacy settings from their Xbox Privacy & online safety page.

You can also use the Xbox Family Settings app to manage your child’s experience on the Xbox Network including: spending for Microsoft and Xbox stores, viewing your child’s Xbox activity, and setting age ratings and the amount of screen time. Xbox-specific Family Safety settings will apply on Xbox console or via Xbox on PC or mobile device but may not be applied on other platforms.

Learn more about managing Xbox profiles at Xbox online safety and privacy settings.

Learn more about Microsoft family groups at Simplify your family’s life.

Legacy.

• Xbox 360. This Xbox console collects limited required diagnostic data. This data helps keep your child’s console functioning as expected.
• Kinect. The Kinect sensor is a combination of camera, microphone, and infrared sensor that can enable motions and voice to be used to control game play. For example:
  • If you choose, the camera can be used to sign in to the Xbox network automatically using facial recognition. This data stays on the console, is not shared with anyone, and can be deleted at any time.
  • For game play, Kinect will map distances between the joints on your child’s body to create a stick figure representation to enable play.
  • The Kinect microphone can enable voice chat between players during play. The microphone also enables voice commands for control of the console, game, or app, or to enter search terms.
  • The Kinect sensor can also be used for audio and video communications through services such as Skype.

Learn more about Kinect at Xbox Kinect and Privacy.

Below you will find additional privacy information, such as how we secure your data, where we process your data, and how long we retain your data. You can find more information on Microsoft and our commitment to protecting your privacy at  Microsoft Privacy.

Enterprise and Developer Products are Microsoft products and related software offered to and designed primarily for use by organizations and developers. They include:

• Cloud services, referred to as Online Services in the Product Terms, such as Microsoft 365 and Office 365, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Dynamics365, and Microsoft Intune for which an organization (our customer) contracts with Microsoft for the services (“Enterprise Online Services”).
• Other enterprise and developer tools and cloud-based services, such as Azure PlayFab Services (to learn more see Azure PlayFab Terms of Service).
• Server, developer, and hybrid cloud platform products, such as Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio, System Center, Azure Stack and open source software like Bot Framework solutions (“Enterprise and Developer Software”).
• Appliances and hardware used for storage infrastructure, such as StorSimple (“Enterprise Appliances”).
• Professional services referred to in the Product Terms that are available with Enterprise Online Services, such as onboarding services, data migration services, data science services, or services to supplement existing features in the Enterprise Online Services.

In the event of a conflict between this Microsoft privacy statement and the terms of any agreement(s) between a customer and Microsoft for Enterprise and Developer Products, the terms of those agreement(s) will control.

You can also learn more about our Enterprise and Developer Products’ features and settings, including choices that impact your privacy or your end users’ privacy, in product documentation.

If any of the terms below are not defined in this Privacy Statement or the Product Terms, they have the definitions below.

General. When a customer tries, purchases, uses, or subscribes to Enterprise and Developer Products, or obtains support for or professional services with such products, Microsoft receives data from you and collects and generates data to provide the service (including improving, securing, and updating the service), conduct our business operations, and communicate with the customer. For example:

• When a customer engages with a Microsoft sales representative, we collect the customer’s name and contact data, along with information about the customer’s organization, to support that engagement.
• When a customer interacts with a Microsoft support professional, we collect device and usage data or error reports to diagnose and resolve problems.
• When a customer pays for products, we collect contact and payment data to process the payment.
• When Microsoft sends communications to a customer, we use data to personalize the content of the communication.
• When a customer engages with Microsoft for professional services, we collect the name and contact data of the customer’s designated point of contact and use information provided by the customer to perform the services that the customer has requested.

The Enterprise and Developer Products enable you to purchase, subscribe to, or use other products and online services from Microsoft or third parties with different privacy practices, and those other products and online services are governed by their respective privacy statements and policies.

Productivity and communications products are applications, software, and services you can use to create, store, and share documents, as well as communicate with others.

Search and browse products connect you with information and intelligently sense, process, and act on information—learning and adapting over time. For more information on artificial intelligence and Copilot capabilities in Microsoft’s search products, please see  Artificial Intelligence and Microsoft Copilot capabilities section above.

Windows is a personalized computing environment that enables you to seamlessly roam and access services, preferences, and content across your computing devices from phones to tablets to the Surface Hub. Rather than residing as a static software program on your device, key components of Windows are cloud-based, and both cloud and local elements of Windows are updated regularly, providing you with the latest improvements and features. In order to provide this computing experience, we collect data about you, your device, and the way you use Windows. And because Windows is personal to you, we give you choices about the personal data we collect and how we use it. Note that if your Windows device is managed by your organization (such as your employer or school), your organization may use centralized management tools provided by Microsoft or others to access and process your data and to control device settings (including privacy settings), device policies, software updates, data collection by us or the organization, or other aspects of your device. Additionally, your organization may use management tools provided by Microsoft or others to access and process your data from that device, including your interaction data, diagnostic data, and the contents of your communications and files.

The Windows Settings, formerly known as PC Settings, is an essential component of Microsoft Windows. It provides a convenient interface for adjusting user preferences, configuring the operating system, and managing connected devices so that you can manage user accounts, adjust network settings, and personalize various aspects of Windows. Windows provides a mechanism for apps to access various device capabilities such as the device’s camera, microphone, location, calendar, contacts, call history, messages and more, while controlling access to your personal data. Each capability has its own privacy settings page in Windows settings, so you can control which apps can use each capability. Here are some key features of Settings:

1. Customization: You can personalize various aspects of Windows, including the look and feel, language settings, and privacy options. Windows settings uses your microphone when controlling the volume, camera when using integrated camera and location to change brightness at night time to help you customize your Windows.
2. Peripheral Management: Install and manage peripherals such as printers, monitors, and external drives.
3. Network Configuration: Adjust networking settings, including Wi-Fi, Ethernet, cellular and VPN connections and will use physical MAC address, IMEI and mobile number if device supports cellular.
4. Account Management: Add or remove user accounts, change account settings, and manage sign-in options.
5. System-Level Options: Configure display settings, notifications, power options, manage list of installed apps and more.
6. Privacy & security management: configure your privacy preferences such as location, collection of diagnostic data etc. Fine-tune which individual apps and services can access device capabilities by turning them on or off.

For more information about data collection in Windows, see  Data collection summary for Windows. This statement discusses Windows 10 and Windows 11 and references to Windows in this section relate to those product versions. Earlier versions of Windows (including Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1) are subject to their own privacy statements.

Entertainment and Related Services power rich experiences and enable you to access a variety of content, applications and games.