Privacy: It’s all about you
You control your data
Our time-tested approach to privacy is grounded in our commitment to give you control over the data you put in the cloud. In other words, you control your data. Microsoft guarantees this with the contractual commitments we make to you.
Your data belongs to you
Your data is your business, and you can access, modify, or delete it at any time. Microsoft will not use your data without your agreement, and when we have your agreement, we use your data to provide only the services you have chosen.
Your control of your data
Your control over your data is reinforced by Microsoft compliance with broadly applicable privacy laws such as the GDPR and privacy standards such as the world’s first international code of practice for cloud privacy, ISO/IEC 27018.
Independent audit reports
You have access to independent audit reports of our compliance with privacy standards, which in turn offers support for meeting your own privacy obligations.
Data processing only with consent
We only process your data based on your agreement and in accordance with the strict policies and procedures that we have contractually agreed to. We do not share your data with advertiser-supported services, nor do we mine it for any purposes like marketing research or advertising.
Subcontractors data restrictions
When we deploy subcontractors or subprocessors to perform work that requires access to your data, they can perform only the functions that Microsoft has hired them to provide, and they are bound by the same contractual privacy commitments that Microsoft makes to you. The Microsoft Online Services Subprocessor List identifies authorized, subprocessors, who have been audited against a stringent set of security and privacy requirements in advance.
Know where your data is located and how it’s used
When you use Microsoft commercial cloud services, we’ll help you choose the service and data location that is right for your business.
Choices for datacenters
Use the tools and options available with Microsoft online services such as Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Dynamics 365 and Power Platform, and Microsoft 365 to determine where you want to store your data.
Choices for data residency
Microsoft offers data residency around the world, helping to ensure that resiliency and compliance requirements can be honored within geographic boundaries. We back these capabilities with contractual commitments and transparency regarding how we store and process your data.
We secure your data at rest and in transit
Data in transit
Encryption keys
We defend your data
Microsoft defends your data through clearly defined and well-established response policies and processes, strong contractual commitments, and if necessary, the courts. We believe all government requests for your data should be directed to you. We don’t give any government direct or unfettered access to customer data.
Responding to data requests
We will not disclose data to a government or law enforcement agency, except as you direct or where required by law. Microsoft scrutinizes all government demands to ensure they are legally valid and appropriate.
Law enforcement requests
If Microsoft receives a request for your data, we will promptly notify you and provide a copy of the request unless legally prohibited from doing so. Moreover, we will direct the requesting party to seek the data directly from you.
Our contractual commitments
Our contractual commitments to our enterprise and public sector customers include defending your data, which builds on our existing protections. We will challenge every government request for commercial and public sector customer data where we can lawfully do so. We have a proven track record of successfully challenging government demands in the courts when those demands are inconsistent with the rule of law, and we are transparent about the number of US national security orders we receive.
GDPR compliance
We stand behind the strength of our GDPR compliance and other data protection safeguards. To provide added reassurance against liability for our commercial and public sector customers, we will provide monetary compensation if we disclose their data in response to a government request in violation of the EU’s GDPR.