What Microsoft says about privacy that Google will never say

Microsoft’s new Services Agreement says something hugely important we can safely bet Google will never say.“We won’t use the content in your emails to target you with ads,” says Microsoft’s updated agreement, effective July 31. The Microsoft Services Agreement also promises “we do not use what you say in email, chat, video calls, or voice mail to target advertising to you. Nor do we use your documents, photos, or other personal files to target advertising to you.” Sure, there are plenty of other ways for Microsoft to target advertising, but this makes clear than Microsoft understands the concept of “don’t be creepy” better than Google. What does the updated language cover? Pretty much everything, including “Bing, MSN, Outlook.com (formerly Hotmail), OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive), Microsoft account, Family Safety, Photo Gallery, Movie Maker, Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Writer, Office.com, Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium, Microsoft Office 365 University, and other Microsoft Office–branded services that link to the agreement through a supplemental agreement.”