Microsoft Office Online Privacy Supplement (ARCHIVE)
ARCHIVE VERSION (last updated September 2006) | Current Microsoft Online Privacy Statement
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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 Online Services Registration
You have the option to register for Office Online Services with Microsoft. Registration lets you use the free services hosted on Office Online. 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 Online 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 Online, and may also be displayed to other users when you use certain features of Office Online, such as when you submit a template.
Posts to the Office Online communities
Office Online provides online communities where you can get answers to your questions about Office or post answers to other users' questions. When you first post to an Office Online community, Office Online will ask you to provide a screen name and e-mail address. All community users can see anything you post, including your screen name. If other community users view your posts with a newsreader, your IP address may also be displayed as this is a standard feature in newsreaders. Office Online also records the communities to which you belong and a score based on the number of users that you have helped. You have the option of publishing your e-mail address and community membership information to others on the system, although you are not required to do so.
Submitting a rating
You have the opportunity to rate some content in Office Online, such as posts to a community, online courses, or design templates provided by Office Online. When you rate content, Office Online will collect your rating as well as a uniquely identifying number used to match you with the rating that you have provided. Your rating will always be anonymous. The uniquely identifying number is used only to allow you to change your rating at a later time.
Share your calendar information
Office Online provides a service that allows you to share calendar information from Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 publicly, or to a restricted group of people. When you share a calendar using Office Online, the calendar is associated with the unique ID number associated with your Microsoft Passport Network credentials. 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 a template
You have the opportunity to submit an Office document as a template for others to use. When you do so, Office Online will associate with that template the unique ID number associated with your Microsoft Passport Network credentials and the display name you provided when you registered for Office Online. Office Online will also keep track of the ratings and download statistics for your template(s).
You can also submit a complaint for templates posted on Office Online that you consider inappropriate. When you submit a complaint, we will ask for your e-mail address. If you choose to provide it, we will use it to communicate back to you the resolution of your complaint.
Using one of the Office Online self-paced interactive courses
While you are taking one of the Office Online self-paced training courses, Office Online creates a file for you that keeps track of 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 Online. The information that you enter will be exposed to other Office Online users. Office Marketplace collects only the information that you choose to give to us.
Contacting Office Online
Office Online 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.
Office Update
Office Update allows you to scan your computer for the Office updates you need, and then download and install the necessary updates. Before you download updates, the Office Genuine Advantage tool will check whether your copy of Microsoft Office is genuine.
When you choose to scan your computer, Office sends a catalog to your computer containing a list of the potential updates that you may need, as well as an ActiveX control to run the scan. The ActiveX control compares the contents of your computer with the update list and shows you the updates that you should install. Office Update then allows you to download and install the updates using Office Online.
Office Update maintains a log of successful and failed update installations. This log is used to improve the quality of the Office Update service.
Office Update does not maintain a record of the specific files on your machine and does not collect any personal information.
Office Genuine Advantage
When you download content from Office Online (such as templates, add-ins, updates, samples, tutorials, etc.), the Office Genuine Advantage tool will check whether your copy of Office is genuine. For more information, see the Office Genuine Advantage Frequently Asked Questions and the Microsoft Genuine Advantage Privacy Statement.