Microsoft Moves Against Google’s Privacy Policy Changes

Last week, Google announced a series of changes brought to their privacy policy, altering the way in which users can stay in control of their information.

Those changes affected some of the most popular products coming from Google, including Search, Gmail, Google Plus, and others, and concerns started to arise.

In Microsoft’s opinion, these changes are meant to increase the control Google has over users’ accounts, and won’t increase transparency on the matter. In fact, these changes would make it harder for the user to stay in control of its information, Microsoft says.

“The changes Google announced make it harder, not easier, for people to stay in control of their own information,” Frank X. Shaw, corporate vice president, Corporate Communications, Microsoft, notes in a recent blog post.

He also says that Microsoft is acting on this, and that it plans on running a marketing campaign through some major newspapers this week. The company will place ads in these newspapers to inform people on what Google is actually doing (such as the one embedded on the left below).

At the same time, Microsoft will underline some of its own products that offer similar functionality with Google’s, but which enable users to fully control their personal information.

Frank X. Shaw underlines that the software giant is keeping its users safe and secure online, and that they are those who control their data. Users are offered the possibility to save the information on their computers, in the cloud, or on both of them.

Here are some of the alternatives Microsoft proposes:

- Hotmail: Join the hundreds of millions of people who enjoy not worrying about the content of their private e-mails being used to serve ads.
- Bing: The search engine that gives you great experiences using the whole Web.
- Office 365: The award-winning online collaboration solution for businesses who don’t want their documents and mail used to benefit advertisers.
- Internet Explorer: The world’s most popular browser, now with Tracking Protection, offering controls over your privacy as you browse.

All those who might feel frustrated or concerned when learning the news about Google’s privacy policy changes, should give any of these a try, the Redmond-based software company notes.

“If you haven’t tried these Microsoft products and services, give ‘em a shot. If you’ve tried them before and moved on, come on back. We’ve left the light on for you,” Frank X. Shaw concludes.