Introduction to privacy

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Microsoft respects and maintains the value of privacy across our products and services. The foundation of Microsoft's approach to privacy is built on the following six key principles:

  • Control: We will put customers in control of their privacy with easy-to-use tools and clear choices.
  • Transparency: We will be transparent about data collection and use so customers can make informed decisions.
  • Security: We will protect the data customers entrust to us through strong security and encryption.
  • Strong legal protections: We will respect customers' local privacy laws and fight for legal protection of privacy as a fundamental human right.
  • No content-based targeting: We will not use customer email, chat, files, or other personal content to target ads to customers.
  • Benefits to customers: When we do collect data, we will use it to benefit our customers and to make experiences better.

Microsoft supports a wide variety of privacy standards and regulations. We build our services with privacy and security regulations in mind to help our customers comply with their own requirements.

Customers can review the available independent audit reports for Microsoft's online services, which provide information about compliance with data protection standards and regulatory requirements, such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO), Service Organization Controls (SOC), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in our Service Trust Portal.

This module will focus on the privacy aspects of our services and what they mean in the context of the data lifecycle, from data creation to the destruction of the data.

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