(Last Updated: October 2009)
Microsoft is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy statement applies to the data collected by Microsoft through the msndirect.com site (the "Site"); it does not apply to data collected through other online or offline Microsoft sites, products or services.
We will ask you when we need information that personally identifies you or allows us to contact you. The personal information we collect may include name, e-mail address, phone, postal address, zip code, and credit card number.
We may collect information about your visit, including the pages you view, the links you click and other actions taken in connection with the Site. We also collect certain standard information that your browser sends to every website you visit, such as your IP address, browser type and language, access times and referring Web site addresses.
In order to offer you a more consistent and personalized experience in your interactions with Microsoft, information collected through one Microsoft service may be combined with information obtained through other Microsoft services. We may also supplement the information we collect with information obtained from other companies. For example, we may use services from other companies that enable us to derive a general geographic area based on your IP address in order to customize certain services to your geographic area.
To sign in to the Site, you will be asked to enter an e-mail address and password, which we refer to as your Windows Live™ ID or your Microsoft Passport Network credentials. After you create your Windows Live ID, you can use the same credentials to sign into many different Microsoft sites and services, as well as those of select Microsoft partners, that display the Windows Live ID or Microsoft Passport Network logos. By signing in on one Microsoft site or service, you may be automatically signed in when you visit other Microsoft sites and services. To learn more about how your credential information is used when you sign into participating sites, please read the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement at http://privacy.microsoft.com/.
The personal information collected on this Site will be used to operate the Site and to provide the service(s) or carry out the transaction(s) you have requested or authorized. In support of these uses, Microsoft may use personal information to provide you with more effective customer service, to improve the Site and any related Microsoft products or services, and to make the Site easier to use by eliminating the need for you to repeatedly enter the same information or by customizing the Site to your particular preference or interests.
We may use your personal information to provide you with important information about the product or service that you are using, including critical updates and notifications. Additionally, with your permission, we may send you information about other Microsoft products and services, and/or share information with Microsoft partners so they may send you information about their products and services.
Microsoft occasionally hires other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as Web site hosting, packaging, mailing and delivering prizes, answering customer questions about products and services, and sending information about our products, special offers, and other new services. We will only provide those companies the personal information they need to deliver the service. They are required to maintain the confidentiality of the information and are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.
Microsoft may disclose personal information if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Microsoft or the Site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Microsoft and our family of Web sites; or (c) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of Microsoft products or members of the public.
Personal information collected on the Site may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which Microsoft or its affiliates, subsidiaries or agents maintain facilities, and by using the Site, you consent to any such transfer of information outside of your country. Microsoft abides by the safe harbor framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of data from the European Union.
Except as otherwise described in this statement, personal information you provide on the Site will not be shared outside of Microsoft and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates without your permission.
You can update information you provide on the Site, such as your name, e-mail address, phone, postal address, zip code, and credit card number, through the Site. To learn more about how to control how we communicate with you, please read the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement at http://privacy.microsoft.com.
Please be aware that this privacy statement and any choices you make on the Site will not necessarily apply to personal information you may have provided to Microsoft in the context of other, separately operated, Microsoft products or services.
You can review and edit the personal information you provided at this Site by following the instructions on the Site. To learn more about how you can review and edit information in your Windows Live ID, please read the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement at http://privacy.microsoft.com.
Microsoft is committed to protecting the security of your personal information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your personal information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the personal information you provide on computer servers with limited access that are located in controlled facilities. Additionally, when we transmit sensitive personal information (such as a credit card number) over the Internet, we protect it through the use of encryption, such as the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol.
We use cookies on this Site to ensure the integrity of the registration process and to personalize the Site. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your hard disk by a Web page server. Cookies cannot be used to run programs or deliver viruses to your computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to you, and can only be read by a Web server in the domain that issued the cookie to you.
One of the primary purposes of cookies is to provide a convenience feature to save you time. For example, if you personalize a web page, or navigate within a site, a cookie helps the site to recall your specific information on subsequent visits. This simplifies the process of delivering relevant content, eases site navigation, and so on. When you return to the web site, the information you previously provided can be retrieved, so you can easily use the site's features that you customized.
You have the ability to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. If you choose to decline cookies, you may not be able to use interactive features of this or other web sites that depend on cookies.
Pages on this Site may contain electronic images known as Web beacons - sometimes called single-pixel gifs - that may be used to assist in delivering cookies, to allow us to count users who have visited those pages, and to deliver co-branded services. We may also include Web beacons in promotional e-mail messages or our newsletters in order to determine whether messages have been opened and acted upon.
Microsoft may also employ Web beacons from third parties in order to help us compile aggregated statistics and determine the effectiveness of our promotional campaigns or other operations of our sites. We prohibit Web beacons on our sites from being used by third parties to collect or access your personal information. We may work with other companies that advertise on our sites to place Web beacons on their sites in order to allow us to develop statistics on how often clicking on an advertisement on a Microsoft site results in a purchase or other action on the advertiser's site.
MSN Direct may display advertisements that are periodically updated. Advertisements in MSN Direct may be delivered by Microsoft or by other companies (third-party ad networks or ad servers) that Microsoft allows to display advertisements to you.
Information collected, processed or transmitted: Microsoft and some of these ad networks may place a persistent cookie on your computer in order to recognize your computer each time they send you an advertisement. Advertisements displayed in MSN Direct may contain electronic images known as Web beacons - sometimes called single-pixel gifs - in order to help compile aggregated statistics and determine the effectiveness of promotional campaigns. We prohibit Web beacons in advertisements displayed in MSN Direct from being used by third parties to collect or access your personal information. We may work with other companies that advertise in MSN Direct to place Web beacons on their sites in order to allow us to develop statistics on how often clicking on an advertisement in MSN Direct results in a purchase or other action on the advertiser's site. In addition, advertisements may be stored on your machine for display while you are offline.
Use of information: Microsoft and ad networks may compile information about what advertisements are seen in MSN Direct and determine which ads are clicked on. Microsoft may also share this information with ad networks. This information allows Microsoft and ad networks to deliver targeted advertisements that they believe will be of most interest to you. Choice/Control: This advertising functionality is required for the use of the product. If you do not want advertisements to display, or do not want to download cookies or web beacons, you can choose not to use this product.
We may occasionally update this privacy statement. When we do, we will also revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of the privacy statement. For material changes to this privacy statement, we will notify you either by placing a prominent notice on the home page of our web site or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this privacy statement to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the personal information we collect. Your continued use of the service constitutes your agreement to this privacy statement and any updates.
Microsoft welcomes your comments regarding this privacy statement. If you have questions about this statement or believe that we have not adhered to it, please contact us by clicking here msndpf@microsoft.com.
MSN Direct Privacy Feedback Microsoft Corporation One Microsoft Way Redmond, WA 98052-6399