Microsoft Copilot
- The policy allows AI training; it does not describe an opt-out.
- Your data is used for personalized ads, including by third-party ad companies.
- Data is shared with partners and affiliates; you can opt out.
- Staff may review your content; the policy does not describe an opt-out.
They can use your chats to improve Copilot and ads, humans may read them, and they can cut access without notice.
Agent Trust Hub uses AI and may make mistakes. Review reports and confirm their contents before relying on them.
- Uses your content for AI training with no opt-out
Collected
Account info, chats, files, voice, location, device data, browsing, and data from partners.
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Privacy policy
“When you use Microsoft Copilot, it will use your prompts, location, language, and related settings to provide helpful responses and improve services.”
Training
They use chats to run Copilot, personalize, improve and train AI, and show ads.
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Privacy policy
“As part of our efforts to improve and develop our products, we may use your data to develop, train, and fine-tune our AI models, including large language models (LLMs).”
Sharing
Microsoft, vendors, affiliates, ad partners, and sometimes people who review content.
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Privacy policy
“We also provide personal data to vendors or agents working on our behalf for the purposes described in this statement, such as companies we hire to provide customer service support.”
Kept
They keep data as long as they say they need it; you can delete Copilot history in the dashboard.
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Privacy policy
“Microsoft retains personal data for as long as necessary to provide the products and services you use and to fulfill the transactions you request.”
Controls
You can delete Copilot history, manage memories, and turn off personalized ads.
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Privacy policy
“If you are signed into Microsoft Copilot with your Microsoft account, you can view, access, export and delete Copilot activity history from your privacy dashboard.”
Fine print
They can cut access without notice; you cover their legal costs; the service is as-is.
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Terms of service
“Unless prohibited by law, we may limit, suspend, or permanently revoke your access to or use of Copilot (and potentially all other Services) in our sole discretion, at any time and without notice.”
Expand “Read the exact line” to see the source alongside the explanation.
What you can turn off
The controls and opt-outs their own documents describe, and where they say to find them.
Delete or export Copilot activity history
Microsoft privacy dashboard, plus in-product controls on the Copilot website or app
Manage memories and personalization
Settings in Microsoft Copilot
Turn off personalized ads
Personalized ads and offers page, and third-party ad settings page
Close your Microsoft account if you want to leave
https://account.live.com/closeaccount.aspx as described in the Microsoft Services Agreement
If a switch is not where they say, the deletion request above still applies.
Line by line
The lines that matter most, worst first.
They say they may use your data, which can include Copilot use, to train their AI.
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Privacy policy
“As part of our efforts to improve and develop our products, we may use your data to develop, train, and fine-tune our AI models, including large language models (LLMs).”
For example, something you type into Copilot could help shape a future model unless a separate product rule says otherwise.
People, not only computers, may look at what you send Copilot.
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Terms of service
“Copilot may include both automated and manual (human) processing of data. You shouldn’t share any information with Copilot that you don’t want us to review.”
For example, a private health question in a chat could be seen by a reviewer.
Your current Copilot chat and files you share can be used to pick ads you see.
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Privacy policy
“Ads may be shown that relate to the current interaction you are having with us, such as your Copilot conversations (including files you share); your current location; transactions; product usage; search queries; or the content you’re viewing.”
For example, chatting about a vacation and attaching a photo could lead to travel ads in the same session.
If someone sues over how you used Copilot, you may have to pay Microsoft’s legal costs.
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Terms of service
“You agree to us and hold us harmless (including our affiliates, employees and any other agents) from and against any claims, losses, and expenses (including attorneys' fees) arising from or relating to your use of Copilot”
For example, if you post a Copilot image and someone claims it copies their work, you may have to pay Microsoft’s lawyers.
They can shut off Copilot, and maybe other Microsoft services, without warning.
Read the exact line
Terms of service
“Unless prohibited by law, we may limit, suspend, or permanently revoke your access to or use of Copilot (and potentially all other Services) in our sole discretion, at any time and without notice.”
For example, you could lose Copilot in the middle of a project with no email first.
You keep ownership, but you give Microsoft wide permission to use your prompts and answers to run and improve Copilot.
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Terms of service
“By using Copilot, you grant us permission to use Your Content, which means we can copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, edit, translate, and reformat it, and we can give those same rights to others who work on our behalf.”
For example, they can copy a prompt you typed so the service can generate a reply and improve later.
Microsoft also buys extra information about people from data brokers.
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Privacy policy
“Data brokers from which we purchase demographic data and contact information to supplement the data we collect.”
For example, details about you that you never typed into Copilot could still be added to what they already have.
In some places Copilot keeps memories from chats to tailor later answers.
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Privacy policy
“For users in some markets, Microsoft Copilot can use your conversation history (including any memories you save) to personalize your experience.”
For example, if you tell it your job, later chats may assume that job unless you change memories in settings.
Signed-in users can look at, download, and delete Copilot history from the privacy dashboard.
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Privacy policy
“If you are signed into Microsoft Copilot with your Microsoft account, you can view, access, export and delete Copilot activity history from your privacy dashboard.”
For example, you can open the dashboard and delete last week’s Copilot chats.
Health uploads in Copilot Health are carved out from training and ads.
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Privacy policy
“The information you choose to submit to Copilot Health is used to provide and operate the Copilot Health service. It is not used to develop or train generative AI models, and it is not used for advertising or marketing purposes.”
For example, a lab PDF you upload there should not be used to train the main AI or to target ads.
You need a Microsoft account and must be at least 13, or older where local law says so.
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Terms of service
“To use Copilot you must have a Microsoft Account, and you need to be old enough at least 13, but sometimes older, depending on your country’s laws.”
For example, a 12-year-old should not use consumer Copilot under these terms.
Words to know
Legal words from the lines above, in plain English.
- prompt
- What you type or say to an AI to get a response. For example, asking a chatbot to write a birthday message is a prompt, and it may be stored.
- model training
- Using your content and conversations as examples to teach an AI system, which can then echo them in future answers. For example, a story you write in a chatbot may be studied by the company to make the next version of the bot.
- personal data
- Any information that is about you or can be linked to you, from your name to your phone's ID. For example, your email, your IP address and the list of apps on your phone are all personal data.
- service providers
- Outside companies that handle your data on the app's instructions, such as a cloud host or an email sender. For example, the company that stores the app's files in the cloud sees your data but only does what the app tells it.
- retention
- How long a company keeps your data before deleting it. For example, a policy might keep your messages for 30 days after you delete them, or for as long as it likes.
- indemnify
- You promise to pay the company's legal costs and losses if your use of the service gets it sued. For example, if you post a song you do not own and the label sues the app, you owe the app's lawyer bills.
- affiliates
- Other companies owned by or connected to the same parent company. For example, if you use one app, its sister apps under the same owner may also get your data.
- data broker
- A company that buys, collects and resells information about people, usually without ever meeting them. For example, your phone number and shopping habits can be sold as part of a list to a company you never heard of.
How we got here · grade C · score 45/100 · 15 of 15 policy answers backed by a verified quote · 0 not stated
What does the app collect beyond what it needs to work?
They collect far more than chats: account and payment details, device IDs, browsing, location, contacts, images, voice, and data from third parties and brokers.
Does it record your voice, face or body, and what happens to that?
Voice, audio, and images can be part of Copilot prompts and Microsoft also collects voice clips. Biometric sign-in is described as depending on consent.
Are your chats and uploads used to train AI models, and is that off by default?
They say they may use your data, including to improve Copilot, to train AI models. These pages do not describe a training off-switch for consumer Copilot. Copilot Health is an exception and is not used to train.
Can employees or contractors read your conversations, and when?
They say Copilot can include human processing and that people manually review some automated results. No review opt-out is described.
Are you profiled or tracked for advertising?
They show personalized ads, including based on Copilot chats, and work with third-party ad companies that set cookies. You can opt out of personalized ads.
Do they sell or share your data, and can you opt out?
They share data with vendors, affiliates, and ad partners, and buy data from brokers. You can opt out of sharing for personalized ads.
What rights do they take over what you type and what the AI makes?
You own your content, but you give Microsoft a broad license to copy and use it to run and improve Copilot, including giving those rights to people who work for them.
How long do they keep your data after you delete it, and can you delete it in the app?
You can view, export and delete your Copilot activity history yourself in the Microsoft privacy dashboard, and delete your account, but the documents do not say how quickly data is gone after deletion.
Does it build a lasting memory or profile of you, and can you see, edit or turn it off?
In some markets Copilot uses conversation history and saved memories. They say you can manage memories and personalization in Copilot settings.
Do they commit to basic security, and have they leaked data?
They describe encryption and limited-access systems, and say Microsoft complies with the EU-U.S., UK Extension, and Swiss-U.S. Data Privacy Frameworks.
Is there a real age gate, and are teens protected?
Under-13s need verified parental consent to create the Microsoft account Copilot requires, teens get feature limits, and under-18s get no personalized ads.
Will they tell you when the rules change, and is the policy specific?
The privacy statement is dated and says they will give prominent notice before material changes. Copilot terms say updates are posted at least 30 days ahead except in rare cases.
Can they close your account without warning, and can you get your data out first?
They may limit, suspend, or permanently revoke Copilot, and potentially other services, at any time without notice.
If something goes wrong, who pays?
Copilot is as-is with no warranty. You agree to cover Microsoft’s losses and lawyer fees from your use. Microsoft’s payout if things go wrong is capped at a month of fees or $10 if free.
Do subscriptions renew on their own, and can you get a refund?
Microsoft subscriptions in the services agreement auto-renew, and purchases are generally final and non-refundable unless the law or a specific offer says otherwise. Price changes get at least 15 days’ notice.
If this app can act for you, does it warn you about scams?
Says sites that don't align with Copilot's policies, including harmful content, will not be accessible, and it will refuse harmful tasks. Asks before final saving and submitting actions. No scam-specific warning while acting is described. This line is not from the privacy policy. We did not test the product. Browse with Copilot in Microsoft Edge (2026); Configure browsing with Copilot (Edge docs) (2026)
The privacy policy is 11,962 words at a college graduate level (Flesch reading ease 38.4); the terms are 19,447 words at a college graduate level.
