Microsoft Game Studios Privacy Statement
(last updated: June 2008)
Microsoft is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy statement
applies to the data collected by Microsoft through the Microsoft Game Studios Web
site you are currently visiting (the “Site”); it does not apply to data
collected through other online or offline Microsoft sites, products, or
services.
Collection of Your Personal Information
The Site does not directly collect information that personally identifies you.
The Site may allow you to sign in with a Windows Live ID for a customized
experience.
If you choose to sign into 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 to 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://www.microsoft.com/info/privacy/default.mspx.
We may collect information about your interaction with the Site. For example,
we may use Web site analytics tools on the Site to retrieve information from
your browser, including the site you came from, the search engine(s) and the
keywords you used to find the Site, the pages you view within the Site, your
browser add-ons, and your browser's width and height. We also may use
technologies, such as cookies and web beacons (described below), to collect
information about the pages you view, the links you click and other actions you
take on the Site. Additionally, we collect certain standard information that
your browser sends to every Web site 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.
Use of Your Personal Information
Any information associated with your Windows Live ID that is used 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. For more information,
please read the Microsoft Online Privacy Statement at http://www.microsoft.com/info/privacy/default.mspx.
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, perform statistical analysis 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.
Sharing of Your Personal Information
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, performing statistical analysis of our 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.
We may access or disclose information about you, including the content of your
communications, in order to: (a) comply with the law or respond to lawful
requests or legal process; (b) protect the rights or property of Microsoft or
our customers, including the enforcement of our agreements or policies
governing your use of the services; or (c) act on a good faith belief that such
access or disclosure is necessary to protect the personal safety of Microsoft
employees, customers or 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 service providers maintain facilities. 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.
Control of Your Personal Information
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.
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.
Access to Your Personal Information
You can review and edit any personal information you provided at this Site as
described on the Site. Or you can write us by using our Web
form and we will contact you within 30 days regarding your request.
Security of Your Personal Information
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 any 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.
If a password is used to help protect your accounts and personal information, it is your responsibility to keep your password confidential. Do not share this information with anyone. If you are sharing a computer with anyone you should always log out before leaving a site or service to protect access to your information from subsequent users.
Report Abuse
You have the opportunity to report abuse to Microsoft if you see offensive
content on the Site. In order to report abuse you will be required to
provide your full name and email address. We will only use the name and
email address you provide for purposes of processing and communicating with you
about the report, and when they are no longer required your name and email will
be anonymized or deleted.
Use of Cookies
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.
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 are using Internet Explorer, search for “Cookies”
in the Help menu to find detailed instructions. 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.
Use of Web Beacons
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 on
our sites and allow us to count users who have visited those pages and to
deliver co-branded services. We may include Web beacons in promotional e-mail
messages or 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 third parties from using Web beacons on our sites 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.
Changes to this Privacy Statement
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 sites or by directly
sending you a notification. We encourage you periodically to review this
privacy statement to stay informed about how we are helping to protect the
personal information we collect.
Contact Information
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 XPrivacy@Microsoft.com or
mailing us at:
Microsoft Game Studios Privacy
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98052-6399 USA