Microsoft’s user agreement update lets it share your data across all cloud services

Microsoft’s new service agreement gives the company the ability to share a user’s data with all of its cloud-based services.

The new service agreement change, which the company issued to users in an email Friday, basically throws out the company’s previous policy of letting users choose how their data is used for each service. The change is similar to what Google is already doing with its Google+ initiative, which treats all Google services as if it was one.

So what does this actually mean for users and their privacy? My guess is that most people probably won’t notice much of a difference, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t impact your privacy rights.

Essentially, this change to the service agreement will mean that Microsoft can now use data from your Outlook/Hotmail, SkyDrive, or Office account and use it in conjunction with other online service like the Bing search engine.

Presumably, this will provide a better usage experience for users because it takes some of the guess-work away from trying to figure out your behavior within each individual service. Microsoft’s official language within the service agreement states that the change will “provide, protect and improve Microsoft products and services.”

Does the idea of Microsoft sharing your data across services bother you? Let us know in the comment section.

Via The Verge