SOLVED: Microsoft Office Outlook Privacy Settings Explained

Have you seen this Microsoft Privacy screen a few times and just clicked past it?

Well we have seen these literally thousands of times and decided to spend a few minutes to understand what we’re actually agreeing to.

To get into your privacy settings:

1. Launch any Microsoft Office App (i.e. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint…)
2. Click FILE (top left corner)
3. Click OPTIONS (bottom left)
4. Stay on the GENERAL section and click the PRIVACY SETTINGS button
5. Scroll down

What is Required Diagnostic Data?

The first section is required diagnostic data and you can’t turn that off. when Microsoft attacks a problem with updates or the operating system it reports it through to them In an anonymous manner meaning that none of your personal information is transferred. The program sends just generic information like which program crashed and what operating system you were using.

What is Optional Diagnostic Data?

The second section in privacy relates to the performance of a program or feature rather than relating to crash details. So things like what words you have added to your spell checklist and, what geographic region for language you are using. This helps Microsoft improve the product for others in similar situations to you but does not send any personal information. Microsoft still has no idea what your name is or exactly where you live.

What are Connected Experiences?

Obviously Microsoft will have some information relating to you and what you’re doing if you choose to use connected experiences. Connected experiences are tools and features that either require live information from the Internet or our add-ons to Microsoft office applications.

Here is the complete list of connected experiences that are available in Microsoft 365 applications like Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

Again, Microsoft will use this information to improve the product but not to track you personally. You can imagine if they find that the document translation is a heavily used feature that they will put more resources into improving it and adding more languages.

Name	More information
3D Maps	Get started with 3D Maps
Analyze Data	Analyze Data in Excel
Automatic alt txt	Everything you need to know to write effective alt text
Automatically apply or recommend sensitivity labels	Sensitivity labels are automatically applied or recommended for your files and emails in Office
Class Notebook add-ins	Getting Started with the OneNote Class Notebook: A Walkthrough for Teachers
Data types	Excel data types: Stocks and geography
Dictation	Dictate in Microsoft 365
Editor	Microsoft Editor checks grammar and more in documents, mail, and the web
Friendly links	Friendlier link names in email
Ink to Text, Ink to Shape, Ink to Math	Change handwritten ink to shapes, text, or math in PowerPoint for Microsoft 365
Insert data from picture	Insert data from picture
Learning Tools	Learning Tools
Live captions & subtitles	Present with real-time, automatic captions or subtitles in PowerPoint
Map chart	Create a Map chart in Excel
PivotTable recommendations	Create a PivotTable to analyze worksheet data
PowerPoint Designer	Create professional slide layouts with Designer
Publish to Microsoft Stream	Turn your presentation into a video
Publish to Power BI	Publish to Power BI from Microsoft Excel
Read Aloud	Listen to your Word documents
Research	Add or change research services
Reuse Files	Find and use the content you need, when you need, without leaving Word
Scan a business card	Scan or tap to add contacts on Outlook for Android
Send to Kindle	Send to Kindle
Sharing notification	Get notified when members of your team update your shared file
Similarity checker	Check your document for similarity to online sources
Smart Lookup	Get insights into what you’re working on with Smart Lookup
Speaker Coach	Rehearse your slide show with Speaker Coach
Suggested replies	Use suggested replies in Outlook
Text predictions	Editor text predictions in Word
Transcribe	Transcribe your recordings
Transform to Web Page	Transform your Word document into a Sway web page
Translate text on images	Translate text on images
Translator	Translate text into a different language

What Are Experiences That Analyze Your Content?

Experiences that analyze your content are things like translation. if you translate a document obviously Microsoft will obviously need to analyze the original document or text to get the grammar and the words right.

What Are Experiences That Download Online Content?

Experiences the download content online are things like embedding a youtube video or using 3 D graphics which is a pretty cool feature.

In this case, again Microsoft really wants to understand what features are being used and why so that they can further improve the products.

Here is a complete list of the online content available to Microsoft 365 apps like Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Outlook.

Name	More information
Cloud fonts	Cloud fonts in Office
FAQs	When you choose Settings > Help & Feedback > FAQs on Outlook for iOS and Android, you’re taken to either Outlook for iOS Help or Outlook for Android Help.
Ink effects	Draw and write with ink in Office
Insert icons	Insert icons in Microsoft 365
Insert Microsoft Forms	Insert a form or quiz into PowerPoint
Insert online 3D models	Get creative with 3D models
Insert online pictures	Insert pictures (Word) Insert a picture in PowerPoint
Insert online video	Insert a video from YouTube or another site
Interesting calendars	Subscribe to a calendar about your favorite sports teams or TV shows on Outlook for iOS and Android.
Location suggestions	When you add a public place with a street address to a calendar item, Outlook for iOS and Android also includes the full street address in the Location field.
Map in event details	The event details page shows a map based on the address of the location of the event on Outlook for iOS and Android.
Office Help	When you choose Help > Help on the ribbon or use F1 in an Office app
Online shape search	Find more shapes and stencils
PowerPoint QuickStarter	Research a topic with PowerPoint QuickStarter
Researcher	Research your paper easily within Word
Tell Me	Do things quickly with Tell Me
Templates	Download free, pre-built templates
Travel time estimates in Up Next	When you choose to allow Outlook for iOS and Android to access your location, an estimate of your travel time to your next event will be included in the Up Next card at the top of your inbox. What happens to your data when you turn Time to Leave on and connect to Cortana?
Weather Bar	Change the calendar Weather Bar forecast city
Weather on calendar	How do I turn on weather on calendar on Outlook mobile?

What Are All Connected Experiences?

In Microsoft 365 apps as well as older standalone Microsoft Office 2016 and Microsoft Office 2019, there is a master switch called all connected experiences in your privacy settings. This connected experiences master switch can be used to turn off all online features and services.

If this is turned off it’s like setting your Microsoft Office back to Microsoft Office 2000 days. You will have no access to translate documents, no way to embed YouTube videos and you will not get updates anymore. as draconian as this sounds there are a few places where this is a good idea. For instance if you are in a very high security environment like the CIA or a nuclear power plant, You really want to make sure that the programs you have deployed have no ability to be connected to or manipulated in any way from outside the company and that is what this particular switch is for.

Are There Other Microsoft Privacy Settings I Should Know About?

Yes, Microsoft has privacy settings on virtually every program and feature that they make available to the public.

One important place that you should be looking for privacy details is the Microsoft privacy dashboard which tells you all about your own settings: https://account.microsoft.com/privacy

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