Microsoft is committed to giving customers transparency and control over their data. Data Subject Rights (DSRs) are the rights that individuals (or “data subjects”) have to view, correct, export, and delete personal data that companies hold about them. We have built controls into our products and services so you can see what personal data Microsoft has collected and you can make choices about that data.
Microsoft collects data to help you do more. To do this, we use the data we collect to provide, improve, and develop our products and services, and to provide you with personalized experiences.
You can learn about the most common categories of data we collect on our Privacy at Microsoft site. If you would like more detailed information, you can review the ‘Personal data we collect’ section of the Microsoft Privacy Statement.
At Microsoft, we believe privacy starts with putting you in control of your data. Your privacy dashboard is the place where you can view and clear data that Microsoft saves to the cloud. This data includes your browsing and search history, location data, apps and services activity, and more.
If you have personal content that you want to export from Microsoft products, you can export it from within those products. For example, you can retrieve your emails through Outlook, or export your contacts through the Outlook ‘People’ feature. If you wish to export your Skype chat history and files shared on Skype, you can request a copy. You can find details on other self-help experiences at the Microsoft Privacy Hub.
To access other data related to your Microsoft account, you can contact our privacy team.
We understand that you may want to delete personal data that Microsoft has collected. Your privacy dashboard is the place where you can view and clear data that Microsoft saves to the cloud. This data includes your browsing and search history, location data, apps and services activity, and more.
Additionally, data is made available to delete within your applications or through self-serve experiences. For example, you can delete your emails within Outlook and your chats within Skype. You can find details on self-help experiences at the Microsoft Privacy Hub.
To delete other data related to your Microsoft account, you can contact our privacy team.
Yes. If you are looking to view or delete personal data that is not linked to an existing Microsoft account, our privacy team is happy to assist. This may be data collected outside of a logged-in Microsoft account experience, for example, an email address you provided as part of attending an event or using an app. You can submit a request for personal data linked to an email address and other identifiers through our privacy web form.
In many cases, data collected in relation to your work or school account is owned and controlled by your organization. You should work with your IT administrator for questions related to this data. You can learn more in the ‘Products provided by your organization-notice to end users’ and ‘Enterprise and developer products’ sections of the Microsoft Privacy Statement.
Our products and services offer a number of controls and resources to enable our users to configure the level of privacy appropriate for them. You can manage many of these settings on your privacy dashboard. There you can view, download and clear the most meaningful data tied to your Microsoft account including browse, search history, precise location data, and more. You can also manage apps and services that have permission to access certain data connected to your Microsoft account, choose whether to see interest-based advertising, and update your communications preferences. For Windows users, we have also published detailed information on diagnostic data collection and how you can update your collection settings.
Some of Microsoft’s services are supported by advertising. To show ads you’re more likely to be interested in, we use data like your location, Bing searches, Microsoft or advertiser web pages you view, demographics, and things you’ve favorited. We don’t use what you say in email, chat, video calls or voice mail, or your documents, photos or other personal files to target ads to you.
You can opt out of personalized advertising on Microsoft sites and services by visiting the Ads settings page on your privacy dashboard. Please note that this option will not prevent you from seeing ads but means the ads you see will be randomized and may not be of interest to you.
You can choose whether you wish to receive promotional communications from Microsoft by email, SMS, physical mail, and telephone. If you have a personal Microsoft account, you can manage your communications preferences on your privacy dashboard. If you do not have a personal Microsoft account, you can manage your Microsoft email contact preferences by using this web form.
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation in the EU on data protection and privacy. The GDPR aims to give individuals, or “data subjects”, controls over their personal data. It defines what rights data subjects have, including the right to access, correct, or delete their personal data.
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a California state law that aims to give consumers rights over their personal information. These rights include the right to view and delete your data and to opt out of the sale your data. You can learn more at Microsoft’s CCPA Notice for California Consumers.
If you have a privacy concern, complaint, or question, please contact our privacy team. We will respond to questions or concerns within 30 days.
If you live in the EU or are a EU citizen, you can also contact Microsoft’s EU Data Protection Officer at: Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited, Attn: Data Protection Officer, One Microsoft Place, South County Business Park, Leopardstown, Dublin 18, Ireland. Telephone: +353 1 706 3117.
The Microsoft privacy team is happy to hear your feedback! Please let us know your thoughts and suggestions through our web form.
