Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) clearly indicated in its new policy update that it does not snoop on the emails and other personal files belonging to users, such as chat, video calls, and voicemail, for targeted advertising.
“We don’t use what you say in email, chat, video calls or voice mail, to target advertising to you. We don’t use your documents, photos or other personal files to target advertising to you. Our advertising policies are covered in detail in the Privacy Statements,” reads the new terms of service of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Earlier this month, the software giant announced that it would update the terms of use for all of its services, including Bing, OneDrive, Outlook and its Windows products. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ;MSFT) said the changes will be effective on July 31.
Microsoft addressed criticisms
The software giant revised its terms of service almost three months after accessing the Hotmail account of a blogger to find evidence about whether the person leaked information about Windows 8 prior to the product’s launch. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s action was discovered following the arrest of its former employee, who was accused of leaking information to the blogger. Microsoft accessed the blogger’s email account without consent or a court order as part of its own investigation on September 2012. The media found out about the incident in March 2014 and criticized the software giant for its action.
At the time, Brad Smith, executive vice president and general counsel for Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), addressed the issue. According to him, “Effective immediately, if we receive information indicating that someone is using our services to traffic in stolen intellectual or physical property from Microsoft, we will not inspect a customer’s private content ourselves. Instead, we will refer the matter to law enforcement if further action is required.”
“In addition to changing company policy, in the coming months we will incorporate this change in our customer terms of service, so that it’s clear to consumers and binding on Microsoft,” added Smith.
Windows Privacy Statement
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) also released a Windows Privacy Statement explaining the basics in terms of privacy, such as the use of cookies and what they are intended for, what type of information the company uses from a person’s account, among other things. The Windows Privacy Statement is part of its terms of service update.
