14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft today updated the Services Agreement in an attempt to put users at the core of its products and thus ensure those who register for an account that they would benefit from enhanced privacy and transparency as far as their details are concerned.
The company says that the new Services Agreement is focused on three important parts, namely privacy, transparency, and simplicity.
First of all, privacy. Microsoft wants you to be sure that your content, including here text delivered via emails, chats, or video calls, isn't used to deliver a more relevant advertising experience. Microsoft has already accused Google of using consumer data to provide ads, so it now wants to make it very clear that its users are fully protected against this kind of privacy violation.
“As part of our ongoing commitment to respecting your privacy, we have updated the Microsoft Services Agreement to state that we do not use what you say in email, chat, video calls, or voice mail to target advertising to you. Nor do we use your documents, photos, or other personal files to target advertising to you,” the company said.
Transparency is another important section that was addressed in the updated version of the Services Agreement, as Microsoft wants its users to know what's happening with their accounts all the time.
This one tweak is particularly important amid claims that Microsoft shared user details with the United States government and the NSA, with Redmond always calling for bigger transparency in order to prove consumers that they are only providing access to user information based on court orders.
“We want our guidelines for use to be very clear, so we have moved the Code of Conduct into the Microsoft Services Agreement and updated it with easy-to-understand guidelines that clearly identify what behaviors could result in an action being taken on your Microsoft account. We’ve also added section 1.5, which states that parents are responsible for Microsoft account and Services usage by their minor children, including any purchases,” Microsoft added.
Last but not least, simplicity was also one of the key points of the new agreement, as Microsoft wanted the guidelines to be clear enough in order to be easy to understand by all users.
The new agreement covers the majority of Microsoft's services, including Bing, MSN, Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail), OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive), Microsoft account, Family Safety, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Writer, Office.com, Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium, Microsoft Office 365 University, and other Microsoft Office–branded products.