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 breadth of collection means that simply using Microsoft products, even passively, generates a data profile that combines what you tell Microsoft, what your device reports, and what third parties share about you.
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, th…
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, prote…
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. Simulta…
The statement authorizes Microsoft to collect a wide range of personal data including identifiers, location, voice and audio recordings, browsing and search history, and content created within Microsoft products, and to use this data for advertising, product personalization, and AI model improvement across its product portfolio. EU and UK users have GDPR-based rights including access, correction, deletion, and objection to processing, while California and other U.S. state residents have rights under applicable state privacy laws including the right to opt out of data sales or sharing for targeted advertising. You can access, review, download, or delete your personal data and adjust advertising and personalization settings at account.microsoft.com/privacy.
How other platforms handle this
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.
We collect the following information when you register for and use our services: Account information. You can create a Discord account by providing an email address and creating a username and password. When you create an account, we will assign you a unique identifier. If you choose to, you may pro...
We collect information you provide directly to us, such as when you create an account, contact us for support, sign up for marketing emails, or otherwise communicate with us. The types of information we may collect include your name, email address, postal address, phone number, company name, job tit...
Monitoring
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"Microsoft collects data from you, through our interactions with you and through our products. You provide some of this data directly, such as when you create a Microsoft account, administer your organization's licensing account, submit a search query to Bing, register for a Microsoft event, speak a voice command to Cortana, upload a document to OneDrive, purchase a Microsoft product or service, or contact us for support. We get some of it by recording how you interact with our products by, for example, using technologies like cookies, and receiving error reports or usage data from software running on your device. We also obtain data from third parties.— Excerpt from Microsoft's Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy)
Netflix updated its Privacy Statement on April 18, 2026, disclosing voice recording collection and expanded household ad profiling for the first time.
Google's Privacy Policy covers Search, Gmail, YouTube, Maps, and every site running Google Analytics. Here is what it actually authorizes.
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The breadth of collection means that simply using Microsoft products, even passively, generates a data profile that combines what you tell Microsoft, what your device reports, and what third parties share about you.
ConductAtlas has identified this type of provision across 11 platforms. See the full comparison.
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