Microsoft Office.com Privacy Supplement
(last updated August 2010)
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Note that this page is a supplement to the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement. In order to understand the data collection and use practices relevant for a particular site or service, you should read both the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement and any applicable supplement.
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Office.com Services Registration
You have the option to register for Office.com Services with Microsoft. Registration lets you use the free services hosted on Office.com. Registration is not the same as activation. While activation is required in order for your software to work correctly, registration is optional and is completely separate from activation.
When you register for Office.com Services, you will be asked to sign in with your Windows Live ID (an e-mail address and password), also known as Microsoft Passport Network credentials. If you do not have a Windows Live ID, you may sign up for one during registration. You will also be asked to enter additional information such as a “display name” and country/region. Your display name will be displayed to you when you use Office.com, and may also be displayed to other users when you use certain features of Office.com, such as when you submit a template.
Submitting a rating
You have the opportunity to rate some content in Office.com, such as posts to a community, online courses, or design templates provided by Office.com. When you rate content, your rating never includes contact information. Your rating is not associated with your identity. After you rate content, you might be asked to provide comments to Microsoft. Providing comments is optional. If you provide comments, they are used to help improve Office.com content.
Sharing your calendar information
Office.com provides a service that allows you to share calendar information from Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 and Microsoft Outlook 2010 Technical Preview publicly, or to a restricted group of people. When you share a calendar using Office.com, the calendar is associated with the unique ID number associated with your Microsoft Passport Network Live ID. If you restrict access to the calendar, the calendar can only be read by the users you specify.
You can specify how much calendar information you want to share. For example, you can specify whether you want to share complete calendar details, including the contents of all appointments, or simply information indicating free/busy status.
Submitting user content
You have the opportunity to submit content you create to Office.com, such as templates, for others to use. When you submit content, Office.com associates with your content the unique ID number associated with your Windows Live ID credentials and the display name that you provided when you registered for Office.com. Office.com also tracks the ratings, downloads and/or other online statistics for your content.
You can also submit a complaint for content posted on Office.com that you consider inappropriate. When you submit a complaint, we will ask for your e-mail address. If you choose to provide it, we can use it to communicate back to you the resolution of your complaint.
Using the Office.com self-paced training courses
While you are taking one of the Office.com self-paced training courses, Office.com creates a file for you that tracks the lessons that you have completed. This allows Office to show you which lessons you have already completed. This information is not made available to other Office customers or to our partners.
Signing up for the Office Marketplace
If you own a business or a service, you have the option of signing up to place your business information in the Office Marketplace section of Office.com. The information that you enter is available to other Office.com users. Office Marketplace collects only the information that you choose to give to us.
Contacting Office.com
Office.com collects information, such as your full name, e-mail address, and/or contact information whenever you submit a question or suggestion. This information is used only to track your question and contact you with a response if necessary.