GroupMe

"We also share personal data among Microsoft-controlled affiliates and subsidiaries, including for the purposes described in this privacy statement. We also share personal data with vendors or agents working on our behalf for the purposes described in this statement. For example, companies we've hired to provide customer service support or assist in protecting and securing our systems and services may need access to personal data."

Microsoft shares personal data broadly across its corporate family, vendors, agents, and partners, creating a wide network of entities with access to user data.

"For these purposes, we combine data we collect from different contexts (for example, from your use of two Microsoft products). For example, Microsoft Store uses information about the apps and services you use to make personalized app recommendations. We use cookies and similar technologies for storing and honoring your preferences and settings, enabling you to sign in, providing interest-based advertising, combating fraud, analyzing how our products perform."

Microsoft explicitly combines data collected across different products and contexts to build unified profiles for personalization and advertising, and uses persistent identifiers like MUID cookies across Microsoft sites.

"Location data. Data about your device's location, which can be either precise or imprecise. For example, we collect location data using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) (e.g., GPS) and data about nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots. Location can also be inferred from a device's IP address or data in your account profile that indicates where it is located with less precision, such as at a city or postal code level."

Microsoft collects both precise GPS location and imprecise location via IP address, cell towers, and Wi-Fi hotspots, using multiple tracking methods that go beyond what many of their services require.

"Device, connectivity, and configuration data. Data about your device, your device configuration, and nearby networks. For example, data about the operating systems and other software installed on your device, including product keys. In addition, IP address, device identifiers (such as the IMEI number for phones), regional and language settings, and information about WLAN access points near your device."

Microsoft collects extensive device data including installed software, product keys, IMEI numbers, nearby Wi-Fi networks, and sensor data (e.g., skeletal tracking, step counts), which goes well beyond core functionality for many products.

"Microsoft retains personal data for as long as necessary to provide the products and fulfill the transactions you have requested, or for other legitimate purposes such as complying with our legal obligations, resolving disputes, and enforcing our agreements. Because these needs can vary for different data types, the context of our interactions with you or your use of products, actual retention periods can vary significantly."

Microsoft provides no clear, fixed deletion timelines for most data types, using broad justifications like 'legitimate purposes' and 'resolving disputes' that allow potentially indefinite retention.

"Microsoft Privacy Statement Last Updated: March 2026. This privacy statement explains the personal data Microsoft processes, how Microsoft processes it, and for what purposes. Microsoft offers a wide range of products, including server products used to help operate enterprises worldwide, devices you use in your home, software that students use at school, and services developers use to create and host what's next."

The privacy statement is updated unilaterally with no mention of requiring user consent for changes or providing advance notice — continued use of products implicitly constitutes acceptance of updated terms.

"After you submit the request to close your child's account, we will wait 60 days before permanently deleting the account in case you change your mind or need to access something on the account before it is permanently closed and deleted. During the waiting period, the account is marked for closure and permanent deletion, but it still exists."

Microsoft imposes a 60-day waiting period before account deletion is finalized, during which data continues to exist in their systems, and deleted items remain for up to 30 additional days after user deletion.