Bing Privacy Supplement
(last updated September 2009)
view the privacy statement highlights
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
 | Cashback |
| Search History |
| Services that use Bing |
When you use Search we may place a cookie on your machine which contains a unique identifier known as the Search ID. If you have previously signed into a Microsoft site or service using a Windows Live ID, we may also read one or more additional unique identifiers contained in other Microsoft cookies when you conduct a search. For more information on how Search uses these cookies and unique identifiers to provide advertising content to you, see the Display of Advertising section of the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement.
When you conduct a search, Microsoft will collect the search terms you provide, along with your IP address, the unique identifiers contained in the cookies, the time and date of your search, and your browser configuration. You can use your browser settings to remove or block cookies on your computer.
We use this information to provide you with relevant search results. We will attempt to derive your approximate location based on your IP address, and will use that information to display search results tailored to your geographic location. You can change your default location by clicking on the "Options" link on the search page. Your location and other search settings are stored in a cookie on your machine.
We also use the information we collect to maintain and improve the quality, security and integrity of our services. For example we may use this information for research purposes and to improve the relevancy of Search results. This information is also necessary in order to detect and protect against security threats such as botnet attacks, click fraud, worms, and other threats.
Finally, as described in the Display of Advertising section of the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement, we may use search query data for the purpose of personalizing the ads we display to you as you use our services. The search terms you enter in Search are categorized and certain user segments are inferred based on those terms. For example, if you search on terms associated with sports, we may associate a “sports segment” with the unique identifier contained in your cookie, and you will then be more likely to see ads related to sports.
We store our Search service search terms (and the cookie IDs associated with search terms) separately from any account information that directly identifies the user, such as name, e-mail address, or phone numbers. Further, we have built-in technological and procedural safeguards designed to prevent the unauthorized correlation of this data. We take additional steps to protect the privacy of stored search information by removing the entirety of the IP address, cookies and other cross session identifiers, after 18 months.
We may share some search query data with selected third parties for research purposes. Before we do so, we remove all unique identifiers such as IP addresses and cookie IDs from the data. We also run the data through a process designed to remove identifiable information that users may have included in the search terms themselves (such as social security numbers or credit card numbers). Additionally, we require these third parties to keep the data secure and to not use the data for any other purposes.
Cashback
When you sign up for Bing cashback, we will request certain registration information, including your email address, your mailing address, and other personal information, to create a Bing cashback account. We use this information to make sure that the cashback you earn on your purchases is correctly added to your cashback account. When you make a purchase, the store will provide us details about your purchase, and we will email you an accounting of your cashback savings. In the future, we might also use your purchase information to help personalize your experience, which might include displaying customized advertising and content. You can revise your account information by accessing your cashback account.
Search History
Using the search terms you enter and the results you click on, Search History provides an easy way to revisit the sites and searches you've used before. You may remove your search history from appearing on the site by following the steps provided here Removing your history removes it from the Search History service and prevents that history from being displayed on the site, but does not delete information from our standard search logs, which are retained and anonymized as described above.
Services that use Bing
You may access Bing search services when using other non-Microsoft sites or services. These sites may use the Bing API, which allows them to provide both Bing search and search results to their users. Bing will only use search information in keeping with this supplement. You should refer to the privacy policy of the site for any questions about their information collection and usage practices.