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 provision operationalizes Microsoft's advertising model by specifying which data categories are excluded from ad targeting and which data sources are permitted for ad personalization. This delineation defines the scope of data processing Microsoft may conduct for advertising purposes across its portfolio and partner networks.
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 operate under terms that restrict ad targeting to interaction data and behavioral signals rather than communications or file content, while accepting that Microsoft processes data from multiple sources to deliver targeted advertising. The terms authorize automated processing of such data to refine ad relevance across Microsoft properties and third-party platforms.
How other platforms handle this
We may share your information with advertising partners to deliver personalized advertisements on third-party websites and applications. This includes sharing device identifiers, browsing activity on the Airbnb platform, and inferred interests with advertising networks and analytics providers to sho...
We do not share your personal data with any third-party advertisers or ad networks for their advertising except for: (i) hashed or device identifiers (to the extent they are personal data in some countries), (ii) with your separate permission (e.g., in a lead generation form) or (iii) data already v...
Zoom may share personal data with third-party advertising partners and analytics providers to deliver targeted advertising and measure the effectiveness of advertising campaigns. This may include sharing identifiers, device information, and behavioral data with partners such as advertising networks.
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"Microsoft does not use what you say in email, human-to-human chat, video calls, or voice mail, or your documents, photos, or other personal files to target ads to you. We use data we collect through our interactions with you, through some of our first-party products, services, apps, and web properties (Microsoft properties), and on third-party web properties, for advertising on our Microsoft properties and on third-party properties. We may use automated processes to help make advertising more relevant to you.— Excerpt from Microsoft's Microsoft Privacy Statement (Legacy)
ConductAtlas detected a major restructuring of Meta’s privacy policy that removed detailed consumer rights disclosures and relocated them to separate documents.
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The provision operationalizes Microsoft's advertising model by specifying which data categories are excluded from ad targeting and which data sources are permitted for ad personalization. This delineation defines the scope of data processing Microsoft may conduct for advertising purposes across its portfolio and partner networks.
Users operate under terms that restrict ad targeting to interaction data and behavioral signals rather than communications or file content, while accepting that Microsoft processes data from multiple sources to deliver targeted advertising. The terms authorize automated processing of such data to refine ad relevance across Microsoft properties and third-party platforms.
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