Xbox LIVE, Games for Windows - LIVE and Xbox.com Privacy Supplement

(last updated January 2012)
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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.

On This Page

	Gamertags
	Service Statistics
	Anti-Cheating
	Kinect
	Exercise Info
	Online Presence
	Location Information
	Search
	Display of Advertising on Xbox Console (Opt-Out)
	Non-Microsoft Account
	Accessing your Information
	Privacy Settings and Data Sharing
	Parental Consent and Family Settings
	SMS (Text Messaging)
	Zune

Gamertags

When you create a new account, we auto-generate a nickname for the account called a gamertag, which is used to identify you on the Xbox LIVE service, on the Zune service, and when you submit reviews of applications on Marketplace. You can change your gamertag by accessing your profile on the Xbox 360 console or on the Xbox.com website, or by tapping on your gamertag in the Games hub on your phone. Because the gamertag may be publicly displayed, you should not use personal information in your gamertag. Gamertags and associated data like game stats and presence can be seen on a variety of properties associated with the Xbox LIVE service (the “Service”). For example, gamertags and game states may appear on xbox.com, game leaderboards, Windows Phone Game Hub, and Windows Live Messenger.

Service Statistics

We may collect information about your usage of the Service. This information can include such activities as: number of times you sign into and sign-off from the Service; games you have played on the Service; content you purchase on the Service; and game-score statistics. If you use an Xbox 360 console that includes a storage device (hard drive or memory unit), and if you play offline or have never signed into the Service, usage data will be stored on the storage device of your Xbox console and sent to Microsoft the next time you sign into the Service. When your Xbox is connected to the Internet, Microsoft is able to identify which Xbox console and which version of the Xbox Dashboard you are currently using. In addition, when you access the Service via a personal computer, Microsoft will collect information about the LIVE software version you are using. This information alerts Microsoft to provide you with appropriate auto-updates and to protect the security of the Service. Additionally, game publishers may receive usage information when you interact with their titles.

Anti-Cheating

In order to create a fair gaming experience for all users by detecting cheating, Microsoft will periodically collect the following information about your computer when you sign on to Games for Windows via a personal computer: your IP address, operating system and LIVE software version, and other non-personally identifiable operating system and driver state information. In addition, Microsoft may also collect information about other software running on your computer that, based on Microsoft’s analysis, is suspected to be software used for cheating. Microsoft will use this information to protect the security of the Service and may take enforcement action against your LIVE account; however, we will not use this information in any way which disables any other software running on your computer.

Kinect

Kinect creates a virtual game environment where your body motions and voice can be part of gameplay. Kinect uses the sensor, camera, and microphone to make gameplay possible. The sensor gathers shape and depth, the camera can see colors and shapes, and the microphone can hear your voice commands, and these let Kinect enable gameplay by collecting the following categories of information:

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Playspace information – “Playspace” means the depth and width of the area where gamers interact with Kinect.

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Skeletal information – When the sensor scans your body – we call it “skeletal tracking” – it is comparing your body with approximately 20 body types derived from billions of human bodies. This information then is used in game play. As you move, Kinect detects changes and translates those changes into your avatar’s movement on the screen. Movements derived from skeletal information during gameplay can be used to estimate Exercise Info. Refer to the Exercise Info section of this document for additional details.

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Audio information – “Audio” means the voice commands or other utterances of those within the playspace.

•	Voice Commands for everyday play – Words and phrases used by the gamer to interact with the Kinect device and games or services on the device.
•	Voice Commands for product improvement – With your explicit consent, samples of voice commands and background noise occurring while using Kinect will be collected and periodically sent to Microsoft when you are on Xbox LIVE. When a child account is signed in or when any account is signed in that has not consented to collection of voice command samples, samples won’t be collected except for use in providing the Service.
•	Voice Commands for search – Words and phrases used to search for Xbox applications, content or services. We will use this information to provide you with search results and to improve Microsoft products. Refer to the Search section of this document for additional details.
•	You can delete voice command samples that are stored on the console by changing this setting to Blocked. This will delete only what is stored on the console, not what has already been sent to Microsoft.

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Photographs: Kinect games may photograph you while you are engaging in game play. You can view your photographs and decide whether to keep, transfer or discard them.

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Identity – “Identity” means who you are. You can tell Kinect who you are by signing in with your Windows Live ID, or you can choose to log in with Biometric sign-in:

•	Biometric Sign-In – For Kinect, “Biometric sign-in” means the shape and shading of your face in combination with its position on the skeleton, for the purpose of being recognized by the console. Biometric sign-in is an optional way to sign in to your console.

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Troubleshooter – Assists in identifying issues with the Kinect device and set-up. There are two options for troubleshooting:

•	Participating in the Xbox Improvement Program – sends information about how sessions function to Xbox, and allows the Troubleshooter to help diagnose issues with Kinect and set-up. Some Kinect machine information is also gathered for troubleshooting gamer sessions.
•	Using the ‘Tuner’ function within Kinect- provides guidance on how to set-up your Kinect and playspace.
•	To update your settings for what data gets sent to Xbox for troubleshooting and product improvement, you can visit your profile on the console.

You can turn off the sensor, which includes the laser, camera, and microphone, from the Kinect Dashboard at any time.

Exercise Info

When the Kinect sensor is used with certain games and apps, your skeletal movements can be used to estimate exercise stats. Your exercise stats include the calories burned, time spent playing, and physical intensity of your movements in some Kinect games and apps. By default, exercise stats are only stored locally on your console and used by the games and apps you play, unless you delete them. You may choose to sync your exercise stats to your Xbox LIVE profile, or share your exercise stats with other Xbox LIVE members (Friends or Everyone) in order to participate with Xbox LIVE exercise challenges, or to track your exercise stats when you play online. You may also choose to also provide a height, weight, year of birth, and gender to improve estimates of your exercise stats, but these attributes are optional, and they are not able to be shared with Friends or Everyone. The Exercise Info sharing setting lets you decide which people can see your exercise stats and where your exercise stats and attributes may be stored.

Online Presence

If you are a Service subscriber, your gamertag and statistics such as high scores will be visible to other subscribers through the Service, and may be visible to the general public, on properties associated with the Service (e.g., within a game, via Windows Live Messenger, on the Web and/or on the Windows Phone Game Hub). Other data such as your gamer picture, motto, country, additional statistics, the games you play, and your online presence, may be available to other subscribers; however you can opt out of sharing this data, or limit sharing it to those on your friends list, using the privacy settings located in your profile. If you use Xbox 360, your personal computer, or the Windows Phone Games hub, your gamertag will be automatically linked with your authentication network credentials so that when you sign into Xbox.com, Bungie.net, or other related gaming sites, your experience will be personalized and you will have access to additional features. The linkage between your gamertag and Windows Live ID may also be shared with third party game sites in order for those sites to provide you with a personalized experience when you sign in.

Location Information

If you allow an Xbox application on Windows Phone to access your location, the approximate location of your phone may be sent periodically to Microsoft in order to award achievements, provide in-game rewards or customize gameplay. Xbox applications will only collect and store the approximate location of your phone as necessary for these purposes. To learn how Windows Phone protects your privacy, read the Windows Phone Privacy Statement. For example, games may use your location to award an achievement based on the distance traveled between game sessions. To disable an Xbox application’s access to your phone’s location, go to the Help/Options menu within the application and turn off access to location.

Search

You will be able to search for Xbox applications, content or services using voice or text commands on the Xbox console or mobile phone, using a search module powered by Bing. To learn how Bing protects your privacy, read the Bing Privacy supplement. Microsoft will collect and store your search terms. We may also collect and store samples of your voice when you use Xbox voice search functionality. We use these samples for the purpose of providing you with search results and improving Microsoft products. We store search terms and search voice samples separately from any account information that directly identifies you. You can disable storage of voice samples by accessing your profile on the Xbox 360 console.

Display of Advertising on Xbox Console (Opt-Out)

Some Xbox services are supported by advertising, as described in the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement. You may opt out of targeted ads from Microsoft Advertising by going online to our opt-out page and choosing to opt out on any computer or device after you’ve signed in to Windows Live. Third parties may also serve ads on Xbox services. To opt out of targeted ads from other companies, please visit the Network Advertising Initiative or review the third party’s privacy statement, which may offer a way to opt out of targeted ads from that third party.

Non-Microsoft Account

Some of the applications found on Xbox LIVE are delivered by a partner company, which may require that you create an account and sign-in credentials to use that application. You should read the application’s privacy statement to understand how your data will be managed. None of this separate account credential information will be shared with Microsoft.

Accessing your Information

You can view or edit your personal information, including billing and account information, privacy settings, online safety and data sharing preferences by accessing My Xbox on the Xbox 360 console or on the Xbox.com website. You can cancel your account at any time by contacting Customer Support. To find contact information for Customer Support, please visit http://support.xbox.com/pages/contact-us.aspx.

Privacy Settings and Data Sharing

You can view or edit your personal information, privacy settings, and data sharing preferences from the location you access the Service, including Xbox 360, the Xbox.com website, or the Windows Phone 7 Games hub. On the Xbox 360 console and the Xbox.com website you can access your information under My Xbox by selecting your profile or gamertag and then Online Safety settings. On the Windows Phone 7 Games hub, tap your profile picture and select privacy settings. The privacy settings allow you to apply controls to areas such as profile sharing, game history, online video and music status, friend lists, voice data collection and Kinect sharing.

Parental Consent and Family Settings

If you have children who use the Service, you can set up child accounts during account creation. Children 17 and younger cannot create an account for the Service without parental consent. The owner of the associated parent account must consent to the collection of information about the child. This involves the collection and verification of a credit card number in order to help determine that the owner of that parent account is an adult. The primary account member of the Xbox LIVE Gold Family Pack will receive activity reports for each account member. These reports will be viewable on Xbox.com, and include usage information such as games played, download history, friends list, Kinect sharing, and social network sharing.

As a parent you can choose privacy settings based on your comfort level for each child account. You can visit My Xbox and select Family Center then Family Settings on the Xbox.com website to view default privacy settings based on age-buckets. To view or edit these default settings as well as your child’s personal information, go to My Xbox on the Xbox 360 console or on the Xbox.com website and select Family Center then Online Safety Settings.

SMS (Text Messaging)

If you sign up for SMS marketing communications from Xbox, your phone number and other data are collected by Microsoft, and text communications are delivered by an Xbox partner, Iconmobile. You can manage your communications by clicking on the SMS Alerts tab here and then signing in with your Windows Live ID or by following the instructions in the text message you receive.

Zune

Zune is an interactive media and social experience. To learn more about how Zune manages your data and protects your privacy, read the Zune Privacy supplement.