The statement certifies Microsoft's compliance with the EU-U.S., UK Extension, and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Frameworks and asserts responsibility for onward transfers to third-party agents, subject to a limited liability carve-out where Microsoft can demonstrate it is not responsible for the agent's non-compliant processing.
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
This provision establishes FTC-enforceable DPF compliance commitments for EU, UK, and Swiss personal data transfers to the United States; the onward transfer liability clause creates compliance dependencies on Microsoft's contractual controls over third-party agents who receive EU, UK, or Swiss personal data.
The updated privacy statement removes the previous detailed list of third-party sources from which Microsoft obtains personal data, including data brokers, public social media posts, location service providers, co-branded partners, and developers. Under the revised language, Microsoft describes obtaining data from 'Microsoft affiliates, subsidiaries, and third parties' without specifying the categories or types of third parties as explicitly as before. The company states it has reorganized the document for greater clarity and accessibility, but the operational effect is that users receive less specific disclosure about where their data originates from outside Microsoft.
View change record →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 →⚠ EU, UK, and Swiss users whose data is transferred under the DPF are subject to the onward transfer liability framework described; disputes must be initiated through the DPF complaint process if not resolved directly by Microsoft
Cross-platform context
See how other platforms handle Cross-Border Data Transfers and Data Privacy Framework Certification and similar clauses.
Compare across platforms →"Microsoft Corporation complies with the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (EU-U.S. DPF), the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. DPF, and the Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (Swiss-U.S. DPF) as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce. In the context of an onward transfer, Microsoft Corporation has responsibility for the processing of personal data it receives under the DPF and subsequently transfers to a third party acting as an agent on our behalf. Microsoft Corporation remains liable under the DPF if our agent processes such personal data in a manner inconsistent with the DPF, unless Microsoft Corporation can prove that we are not responsible for the event giving rise to the damage.Excerpt from Microsoft's Privacy Statement (Legacy)
1) REGULATORY LANDSCAPE: This provision engages the EU-U.S.
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This provision establishes FTC-enforceable DPF compliance commitments for EU, UK, and Swiss personal data transfers to the United States; the onward transfer liability clause creates compliance dependencies on Microsoft's contractual controls over third-party agents who receive EU, UK, or Swiss personal data.
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