A multinational technology corporation that develops and licenses software, hardware, and cloud computing services, including the Windows operating system, Office productivity suite, Xbox gaming platform, and Azure cloud services. The company operates major digital platforms and services used by billions of consumers and businesses worldwide, making its policies on data privacy, content moderation, and AI governance significant for user rights and digital market competition. As a designated gatekeeper under various regulatory frameworks, its policy decisions regarding platform access, data handling, and algorithmic transparency have broad implications for the technology industry.

5 Documents
110 All provisions 17 High severity 67 Medium severity 26 Low severity
16 Changes · 12 mo
Sep 2, 2026 Last change

High, provisions that significantly limit your legal rights, authorize broad data collection, or create material financial exposure. Medium, provisions worth knowing about but with partial protections or limited scope. Low, standard terms with minimal consumer impact.

Objective measurements
Counted directly from the archive for Microsoft — documents, captured versions, and detected changes.
5
Documents tracked
23
Versions captured
16
Changes · 12 mo
16
Changes · all-time
11.7 d
Avg between changes
6
Days since change
67 d
Longest stable stretch
ConductAtlas User-Protection Index
Provisional · scored on 4 of 6
45.2/100
Consumer tier · provisional until more dimensions are known
How is this scored? →
Baseline 45.2 here · corpus average 31.4 across 191 scored platforms Top quartile Q1 18.4 · median 30.8 · Q3 42.3

Higher = more protective of you, the user/customer — a deliberately user-protective lens, not a universal “good vs bad” score. Computed algorithmically from Microsoft’s cited governance stances; no dimension we haven’t confidently read is ever counted against the score. Free, reproducible, and never purchasable.

Consumer tier · 45.2/100 · provisional · scored on 4 of 6
Arbitration & class action weight 22% 0.0
Data sharing & sale weight 20% not stated
AI training on your data weight 18% 80.0
Content ownership & licence weight 15% not stated
Business tier · 45.2/100 · provisional · scored on 4 of 6
Arbitration & class action weight 22% 0.0
Data sharing & sale weight 20% not stated
AI training on your data weight 18% 80.0
Content ownership & licence weight 15% not stated
Liability & warranties weight 10% 0.0
Governance Coverage
Data Collection
43 provisions · 14 high · 27 med
Ai Automated
31 provisions · 18 high · 13 med
Account Control
25 provisions · 15 high · 9 med
Liability Limitation
25 provisions · 14 high · 9 med
Data Sharing
24 provisions · 7 high · 16 med
Contract Terms
23 provisions · 8 high · 10 med
Data Usage
22 provisions · 7 high · 12 med
Data Retention
20 provisions · 6 high · 10 med
Acceptable Use
20 provisions · 14 high · 6 med
Intellectual Property
17 provisions · 6 high · 10 med
Quick Facts
Arbitration: Not stated
AI Training: Not used to train AI
Data Retention: Deleted after account closure
Class Action: Waived
Key Governance Provisions
High Privacy security principle restricts AI system operation

This clause extends the enumerated principles across the full AI system lifecycle—design, build, and operation—not merely at a single stage.

High Ethical generative AI use bias avoidance requirement

By enumerating five specific ethical considerations as requirements for generative AI use, Microsoft establishes a defined checklist of obligations rather than a general aspiration.

High Legal and regulatory compliance obligation for AI

This clause ties legal and regulatory compliance and bias avoidance directly to the goal of responsible and fair AI use, establishing both as affirmative requirements rather than optional practices.

High Ethical considerations require human oversight

Requiring human oversight means that AI decisions or outputs are not fully autonomous; human review is a stated obligation within Microsoft's responsible AI framework.

High Copilot personal data security commitment

This clause simultaneously asserts a data retention function (remembering details) and a data protection commitment, making both the capability and the security posture explicit.

Document Coverage
Aigovernance Privacypolicy Responsibleai Servicesagreement
Last change detected: Sep 2, 2026 Changes (12 months): 16 Documents monitored: 5 Provisions tracked: 110
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Documents

Microsoft Responsible AI Standard

Low

This document sets out Microsoft's rules for how its AI systems—including Copilot—must be built and used responsibly, requiring equal treatment of all users, human oversight of AI, and protection of …

Last updated May 12, 2026 · Responsible ai
6 provisions 4 versions captured Version history →

Responsible AI Report 2025

Medium

This document establishes Microsoft's governance framework and internal standards for the design, development, and deployment of artificial intelligence systems across its product portfolio, including Azure AI, Copilot, and Bing. The …

Last updated March 5, 2026 · Ai governance
7 provisions 1 version captured Version history →

Responsible AI

Low

This document sets out Microsoft's rules and values for how it builds and deploys AI, centering on fairness, privacy, safety, and accountability. When you use Copilot at work, it operates …

Last updated March 5, 2026 · Responsible ai
8 provisions 4 versions captured Version history →

Microsoft Services Agreement (Legacy)

High

This agreement sets the rules for using Microsoft's Services, including what rights Microsoft has over content you upload and what you can and cannot do with its AI tools. If …

Last updated March 5, 2026 · Services agreement
10 provisions 3 versions captured Version history →

Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy)

High

This document explains what data Microsoft collects about you—including your location, browsing history, and the content of your emails, chats, and files—and how Microsoft uses that data, including to show …

Last updated March 5, 2026 · Privacy policy
9 provisions 11 versions captured 5 significant changes Version history →

Recent Changes

June 26, 2026 · Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy) Medium

Microsoft substantially reorganized and rewrote its privacy statement on June 26, 2026. The company removed detailed explanations of specific third-party data sources it previously disclosed (data brokers, public social media …

View change record →
April 19, 2026 · Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy) Medium

Microsoft modified its data retention policy language on April 19, 2026. Previously, the policy described specific retention criteria including whether customers expected data to be retained until they removed it, …

View change record →
April 1, 2026 · Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy) Medium

Microsoft revised its data retention policy language on April 1, 2026. Previously, the policy outlined specific retention criteria including whether customers expected data retention until deletion, whether automated deletion controls …

View change record →
March 13, 2026 · Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy) Medium

Microsoft updated its Privacy Statement in March 2026 with two substantive changes: removal of language describing additional rights for European Economic Area users, and addition of language authorizing contact via …

View change record →
March 5, 2026 · Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy) Medium

Microsoft removed a sentence from its privacy statement that described consent-based marketing contact via auto-dialer and prerecorded voice technology potentially generated using AI. The updated document no longer explicitly discloses …

View change record →
📈 Policy Drift Analysis View all changes →

High Severity Provisions (17)

View all high severity provisions → Compare Microsoft with other platforms →

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Applicable Regulations

EU AI Act
European Union
View official text ↗
BIPA
Illinois, USA
View official text ↗
CCPA/CPRA
California, USA
View official text ↗
Colorado AI Act
US-CO
View official text ↗
CFAA
United States Federal
View official text ↗
Connecticut Data Privacy Act Amendments
US-CT
View official text ↗
CAN-SPAM
United States Federal
View official text ↗
DMA
European Union
View official text ↗
DSA
European Union
View official text ↗
ePrivacy Directive
European Union
View official text ↗
FAA
United States Federal
View official text ↗
FTC Act Section 5
United States Federal
View official text ↗
GDPR
European Union
View official text ↗
Indiana Consumer Data Protection Act
US-IN
View official text ↗
Kentucky Consumer Data Protection Act
US-KY
View official text ↗
TCPA
United States Federal
View official text ↗
Texas AI Act
Texas, USA
View official text ↗
UK GDPR
United Kingdom
View official text ↗
Universal Opt-Out Mechanism Expansion 2026
US
View official text ↗
VPPA
United States Federal
View official text ↗

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Frequently Asked Questions

What Microsoft documents does ConductAtlas track?

ConductAtlas tracks 5 Microsoft documents including terms of service, privacy policy, and other governance documents. Every document is captured daily with cryptographic verification.

How many policy changes has Microsoft made in the past year?

Microsoft has made 16 policy changes in the past 12 months across the documents ConductAtlas tracks.

How many provisions has ConductAtlas classified for Microsoft?

ConductAtlas has classified 110 provisions across Microsoft's tracked documents. 17 are rated high severity, 67 medium, and 26 low.

Can I get alerts when Microsoft changes their policies?

Yes. Monitor subscribers ($4.99/month) can add Microsoft to their watchlist and receive same-day email alerts whenever any tracked document changes.