Microsoft uses your personal data to serve you targeted advertisements and marketing, including by personalizing ads based on your browsing behavior, interests, and usage of Microsoft products.
This analysis describes what Microsoft Azure's agreement states, permits, or reserves. It does not constitute a legal determination about enforceability. Regulatory applicability and practical outcomes may vary by jurisdiction, enforcement context, and individual circumstances. Read our methodology
Interest-based advertising means your activity across Microsoft services, including search, browsing, and product use, may be used to build a profile for ad targeting, and you should be aware of how to opt out if you prefer not to receive personalized ads.
Microsoft now discloses that it may contact you by phone for marketing using automated dialers and AI-generated voices if you have consented to marketing communications, which represents a new disclosure of contact method and technology type. The company has also reorganized its data retention policy to state it retains data for broader business purposes including improving products and protecting systems, while removing previous specific examples and retention criteria, making it less clear exactly how long specific types of your data will be kept. You should review your consent settings for marketing communications and verify what contact methods you have authorized, particularly if you have concerns about automated or AI-generated calls.
View change record →Microsoft's privacy policy now provides a less detailed explanation of how long your data is retained. Previously, the policy included specific examples, such as how long deleted emails remain in your system before final deletion, and listed criteria for deciding retention periods. Now those details are consolidated into a more general statement pointing readers to separate product documentation. This means you'll need to consult multiple documents to understand retention timelines for specific services, which reduces transparency at the point of reading the main privacy policy.
View change record →Microsoft's updated retention policy provides greater specificity about how long your data persists and under what conditions it is deleted. The policy now explicitly states that deleted items from OneDrive and Outlook.com may remain in Microsoft's systems for up to 30 days before permanent removal, even after you empty the Deleted Items folder. Additionally, the updated terms clarify that retention periods depend on whether you have an expectation that Microsoft will keep the data until you actively remove it, and whether automated controls exist to let you access and delete data yourself. You can review Microsoft's privacy dashboard to exercise available deletion controls and understand which services retain your data under these criteria.
View change record →New provision detailing use of data for personalization, recommendations, and interest-based advertising with acknowledgment of promotional communications.
View full change record →Microsoft uses your personal data to deliver personalized advertising across its products; you can adjust your ad preferences and opt out of interest-based advertising through the Microsoft privacy dashboard at account.microsoft.com/privacy.
How other platforms handle this
We may display advertisements on our Services and those advertisements may be targeted to your interests based on your personal information. We may share your personal information with advertising partners for interest-based advertising purposes. You may opt out of interest-based advertising by visi...
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At Ledger, earning and maintaining our users' trust is a top priority. That's why we are deeply committed not only to protecting your privacy and securing your personal data, but also to being fully transparent about how we handle it.
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"Microsoft uses the data we collect to provide you with 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 with relevant offers.— Excerpt from Microsoft Azure's Microsoft Privacy
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Interest-based advertising practices engage GDPR's consent and legitimate interests provisions, the ePrivacy Directive (for EU cookie-based targeting), CCPA's right to opt out of sharing for targeted advertising, and FTC Act requirements around deceptive advertising practices. (2) GOVERNANCE EXPOSURE: Medium. The statement's disclosure of advertising use is broad and encompasses multiple Microsoft services. The reliance on legitimate interests as a processing basis for advertising, where applicable, may face scrutiny under GDPR given the commercial nature of the processing. (3) JURISDICTION FLAGS: EU/EEA users have stronger rights to object to and opt out of interest-based advertising under GDPR. California residents have CCPA rights to opt out of sharing for targeted advertising. UK users are subject to the UK GDPR and UK ICO guidance on cookie-based advertising. (4) CONTRACT AND VENDOR IMPLICATIONS: Organizations using Microsoft advertising products or integrating Microsoft advertising technologies on their own platforms should assess whether their consent mechanisms and privacy disclosures are consistent with Microsoft's stated data practices. (5) COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS: Compliance teams should audit consent collection mechanisms for any Microsoft advertising SDK or tracking technology integrated into their products, and confirm that opt-out signals (such as Global Privacy Control) are honored as required by applicable state law.
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Ad personalization controls removed. Contact scanning added. Advertiser data partnerships quietly dropped. A timeline of every change.
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Interest-based advertising means your activity across Microsoft services, including search, browsing, and product use, may be used to build a profile for ad targeting, and you should be aware of how to opt out if you prefer not to receive personalized ads.
Microsoft uses your personal data to deliver personalized advertising across its products; you can adjust your ad preferences and opt out of interest-based advertising through the Microsoft privacy dashboard at account.microsoft.com/privacy.
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