This analysis describes what Microsoft'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
The clause establishes the operational scope of data collection and permissible uses for AI feature interactions. It defines what categories of information Microsoft processes and the purposes—service delivery, feature improvement, personalization, and product development—under which that data may be utilized.
The updated policy establishes additional grounds on which Microsoft may retain personal data. While the prior version tied retention to specific user expectations and available deletion controls, the revised language authorizes retention for 'operating our business, meeting our contractual and legal obligations, improving and developing our products and services, protecting the safety and security of our systems and customers, and resolving disputes.' This expands the stated purposes beyond transaction fulfillment and legal compliance. The updated policy directs users to product-specific documentation for retention details rather than providing explicit deletion procedures and timelines in the privacy statement itself.
View change record →The updated policy now grounds data retention in five broad business purposes: operating the business, meeting contractual and legal obligations, improving and developing products and services, protecting system and customer safety, and resolving disputes. Previously, the policy articulated specific criteria for determining retention periods, including customer expectations for retention until manual deletion, availability of automated deletion controls, and data sensitivity. The revised language removes these granular criteria and instead requires users to consult individual product documentation to understand when their specific data will be deleted. This shifts the burden of finding retention timelines from the main policy statement to separate product-specific documents.
View change record →The updated Privacy Statement removes previously stated language about additional rights available to European Economic Area users, narrowing the policy's explicit protections in that region. Simultaneously, the revised terms now explicitly authorize Microsoft to contact users via auto-dialer and prerecorded voice for marketing purposes, provided the user has consented to receive marketing communications to the phone number supplied. This establishes Microsoft's contractual permission to initiate automated marketing calls using artificial intelligence-generated voice technology where user consent to marketing contact has been given.
View change record →Users operating Copilot and AI-powered features transmit prompts, inputs, and contextual document information to Microsoft as part of service functionality. The terms authorize Microsoft to retain and use this interaction data for service improvement, personalization, and broader product development purposes.
How other platforms handle this
We are simplifying our Terms of Use, including clarifications around the use of AI tools, and their data use. We have moved the terms that describe AI Features, which were previously written for a Creator audience and located under the AI-Based Tools Supplemental Terms and Disclaimer, into the User ...
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"When you use Copilot features and other AI-powered products and features, we collect data about your interactions with the feature, such as the prompts and inputs you provide, the output of the feature, and data Microsoft processes to provide the service, such as information about the document you are using the feature in context of. We use your inputs, outputs, and data about your interactions with AI-powered features to provide, improve, and personalize the features and to develop and improve Microsoft products and services.— Excerpt from Microsoft's Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy)
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The clause establishes the operational scope of data collection and permissible uses for AI feature interactions. It defines what categories of information Microsoft processes and the purposes—service delivery, feature improvement, personalization, and product development—under which that data may be utilized.
Users operating Copilot and AI-powered features transmit prompts, inputs, and contextual document information to Microsoft as part of service functionality. The terms authorize Microsoft to retain and use this interaction data for service improvement, personalization, and broader product development purposes.
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