Microsoft Simplifies Its Services Agreement

It’s a matter of trust, after all.

There are many vendors who are professing to be the end-all, be-all for online activities. And, the majority of them will give you their assurances for security and privacy while they shove a disclaimer in your face that requires an afternoon and a magnifying glass to read through.

We've heard the horror stories, and experienced them ourselves, as some companies sift through your private emails just to build revenue through laser targeted advertisements. Who hasn't searched a specific online retailer for product pricing only to see the product show up in advertisement on a totally unrelated news web site?

That's just the way of the web, it seems.

Still a hefty page-turner, Microsoft has taken the initiative to update its own Services Agreement to make it easier to understand. Specifically, the company has altered the Privacy and Code of Conduct parts of the contract to highlight its stance in a more meaningful, less legalistic way. Instead of meandering around the topics like a politician, the company has explicitly laid out the terms of its services agreement in these areas.

One particular, but important, area that has been updated with clearer verbiage is the illustration of the company's stance on customer data. Microsoft plainly states that it will not use customer's documents, photos or other personal files or what they say in email, chat, video calls or voice mail to target advertising to them. Compare that to Google's (How we use information we collect) and there's quite a difference.

The full agreement is here: Microsoft Services Agreement

Now, if they'd just get Cortana to read it me...