Privacy Statement for the Microsoft® Customer Experience Improvement Program
Microsoft is committed to help protect your privacy. This privacy statement explains the data collection and use practices for the Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) reports that you choose to send to Microsoft by participating in the program. This statement does not apply to other online or offline Microsoft sites, products, or services. Collection and Use of Information When you participate, basic information about your computer and how you use your programs is collected. These reports are sent to Microsoft, where we use them to help improve the features our customers use most often and to create solutions to common problems. You can choose to participate in the Customer Experience Improvement Program on a product-by-product basis, usually when you first install a Microsoft product. To change your participation later, click the Help menu in most Microsoft programs, and then click Customer Feedback Options. CEIP reports generally include information about:
This information is sent to Microsoft when you are connected to the Internet. CEIP reports do not contain any contact information about you (such as your name, address, or phone number). Although the IP address through which you access the Internet is sent to Microsoft with each CEIP report, Microsoft does not use it. CEIP generates a globally unique identifier (GUID) that is stored on your computer to uniquely identify it. The GUID is a randomly generated number; it does not contain any personal information and is not used to identify you. CEIP uses the GUID to distinguish how widespread the feedback we receive is and how to prioritize it. For example, the GUID allows Microsoft to distinguish between one customer experiencing a problem one hundred times and other customers experiencing the same problem once. The GUID is stored on your computer and sent with every CEIP report. Microsoft uses CEIP information to improve our software. We may share CEIP information with partners, but the information can not be used to identify you. No CEIP information is used or shared for advertising purposes. Information that is collected by or sent to Microsoft may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Microsoft or its affiliates, subsidiaries, or agents maintain facilities. Microsoft may disclose this information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Microsoft or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Microsoft and its family of Web sites, or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of Microsoft employees, users of Microsoft software or services, or members of the public. Microsoft occasionally hires other companies to provide limited services on its behalf, such as providing customer support, processing transactions, or performing statistical analysis of reports. Microsoft will provide those companies only the information they need to deliver the service. They are required to maintain the confidentiality of this information and are prohibited from using it for any other purpose. Security Microsoft is committed to help protect the security of the information we collect. CEIP uses a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect reports from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. Changes to this Statement Microsoft may occasionally update this privacy statement. When we do, we will also revise the "last updated" date at the top of the privacy statement. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the information we collect. For More Information Microsoft welcomes your comments regarding this privacy statement. If you believe that Microsoft has not adhered to this statement, please contact us by e-mail or postal mail, and we will use commercially reasonable efforts to promptly determine and remedy the problem. CEIP Privacy |
