Your Microsoft account, your data, your choicesApplies to: Microsoft 365, Access, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio, Word, Microsoft 365 app for Android and iOS, Teams, Windows 10, Windows 11, Microsoft Edge, Microsoft Authenticator, Microsoft Autofill Chrome Extension.
Notes:
  • To view this content in your browser, visit https://aka.ms/accountprivacysettings.
  • This info applies to products you use with your personal Microsoft account and doesn't apply if you are using a work or school account.
Your account brings everything togetherYour Microsoft account is the key to all things Microsoft—you use it to sign in to Microsoft products and services. It unlocks the best from Microsoft and delivers your personalized experience on any device. Whenever and wherever you sign in with your Microsoft account, the info that's saved to your account—like your favorites, calendar info, contacts, passwords, browsing history, and recommended files—is ready for you.
How Microsoft uses your account data to improve your experience
Your Microsoft account data is part of what makes features and experiences in our products work the way you expect them to across devices and Microsoft products.Saving this data to your Microsoft account makes it so that most of the time when you sign in to a Microsoft product, we remember what you've already told us so you can spend less time setting up and can access your important info as soon as you sign in.Your data is also used to help personalize your experience, make experiences in our products work the way you expect them to, and to help make sure all your most important info, files, and preferences are available to you quickly wherever you need them.Here are some categories of useful information and experiences that Microsoft makes available when you sign in:
  • Saved account details
  • Autofill info, like addresses and passwords
  • Favorites and browsing history in Microsoft Edge
  • OneDrive files and recommended files
  • Contacts
  • Saved settings and preferences
To learn more about data and privacy at Microsoft, visit the Microsoft Privacy Statement at https://aka.ms/privacystatement.
How Microsoft helps keep your data safe
Microsoft takes the safety and security of data very seriously and uses security best practices like access controls and encryption to help keep your data safe. Encryption helps protect data by encoding it so that it can't be read or understood by anyone without permission to see it.You can also help protect your account credentials and the data saved to your account by choosing a strong password, using 2-factor authentication, and never reusing your password for other accounts. Learn more about what you can do to help protect your accounts and devices by visiting https://aka.ms/whyauthentication.
Where to make changes to your data settings
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Your data always belongs to you, and you have choices about your experience and how your data is used.Your Microsoft account is the central hub for your data at Microsoft, but you'll see settings and controls within many Microsoft products that impact both your account-associated data and the experience within the product itself. Because of this, you can make changes or decisions about your Microsoft account data sharing and settings in a few different places. As we continue to develop new features and work to make our settings as useful as they can be, you may see new options over time.Here's where to find settings, info, and choices about data associated with your Microsoft account:
Saved account detailsYour name, age, profile picture, preferred payment details, and other important details can be saved to your account so that when you sign in all these things are available to you.
Autofill infoWhen you save contact info, addresses, passwords, payment info, or other info that you'll frequently need to access when filling out forms and searching, can be saved to your account so that you can quickly access this info across products and devices.
ContactsContacts that you've added in Windows, Outlook, and Teams can be saved with your Microsoft account, so the contacts sync when you sign in with your account.
Favorites, browsing history, and synced info in Microsoft EdgeNo matter where you use Microsoft Edge, we can remember your favorites, browsing history, and preferences when you're signed in.
OneDrive photos, files, and suggested filesYou can rest a little easier knowing that no matter what happens to your devices, your files saved to OneDrive are stored in the cloud to help protect them from loss.You'll also get suggestions for files that might be useful to you or that you might be looking for. You can choose whether your data is used to provide these suggestions.
Saved settings and preferencesWhen you sign in, we can remember your language and speech settings, calendar info, and inking and typing preferences, so that you don't have to set them up again.