Microsoft places cookies and similar tracking technologies on your device when you use its websites and services, which are used for purposes including advertising, fraud prevention, sign-in, and analyzing how you use its 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
Cookies used for interest-based advertising track your behavior across Microsoft and third-party sites; you can manage these through your browser settings or Microsoft's cookie preference tools.
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 →Removal of explicit cookies and tracking technologies provision suggests de-emphasis on transparency about tracking mechanisms.
View full change record →Provision changed from empty excerpt to detailed explanation of cookie functionality including preference storage, sign-in, interest-based advertising, fraud prevention, and performance analysis.
View full change record →Microsoft uses cookies for advertising and behavioral tracking in addition to essential functions like sign-in; users can manage non-essential cookie preferences through Microsoft's cookie settings tools available on its websites.
How other platforms handle this
If you choose to reveal any personal information about yourself to other users, you do so at your own risk. We strongly encourage you to use caution in disclosing any personal information online.
When you are asked to provide information, you may decline to do so; but if you choose not to provide information that is necessary to provide some of our Services, you may not be able to use those Services.
to object to profiling activities based on our own legitimate interests
"Microsoft uses cookies (small text files placed on your device) and similar technologies to provide our websites and online services and to help collect data. Cookies allow us, among other things, to store 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.Excerpt from Microsoft Azure's Microsoft Privacy
(1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: Cookie use for advertising and analytics engages the EU ePrivacy Directive (and national implementing laws), GDPR consent requirements for non-essential cookies, and emerging U.S.
Enforcement risk, jurisdiction flags, contract triggers, and due diligence action items.
Ad personalization controls removed. Contact scanning added. Advertiser data partnerships quietly dropped. A timeline of every change.
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Cookies used for interest-based advertising track your behavior across Microsoft and third-party sites; you can manage these through your browser settings or Microsoft's cookie preference tools.
Microsoft uses cookies for advertising and behavioral tracking in addition to essential functions like sign-in; users can manage non-essential cookie preferences through Microsoft's cookie settings tools available on its websites.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 290 platforms. See the full comparison.
No. ConductAtlas is an independent monitoring service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft Azure.