(NB Microsoft has denied these claims and you can read their view HERE)
Although I post my blog content on WordPress, I usually use MS Word to draft my content initially. I am used to it, and it is easy to use. Little did I know that, according to the blogsite and forum nixCraft, Microsoft recently (September Privacy update) switched on a feature that allows them to ingest everything you write on Word to help develop their AI Algorithm, called Copilot. The setting is turned on by default in the Privacy settings and must be unchecked manually. Did Microsoft tell you this? Well, kinda, sorta. Microsoft says, “we don’t use your customer data to train Copilot or its AI features unless you provide consent to do so”. Did you provide consent? You no doubt did, unknowingly, when Microsoft updated its Terms of Use, which it does on a regular basis. If you continued to use Office 365, you granted consent.
In the last few days, a pop up has appeared when I am doing something on Word through Office 365.
“Thank you for using Office! We’ve made some updates to the privacy settings to give you more control”.
If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.
If you go to Privacy Settings there is a summary blurb on how the Terms of Use were updated on September 30. If you look hard enough you will find this reference;
“We added a section on AI services to set out certain restrictions, use of Your Content and requirements associated with the use of the AI services.”
You really should read the full Terms but as Microsoft notes, this will take an hour of your time (ESTIMATED READING TIME: 55 Minutes; 14268 words).
Having waded through it, this I believe is the relevant wording;
b. To the extent necessary to provide the Services to you and others, to protect you and the Services, and to improve Microsoft products and services, you grant to Microsoft a worldwide and royalty-free intellectual property license to use Your Content, for example, to make copies of, retain, transmit, reformat, display, and distribute via communication tools Your Content on the Services.
There is nothing here about opting out. You have to go to Privacy settings and do some digging to get to that. By masking these changes to make them appear that your privacy has been strengthened (whereas in fact it is just a content grab), Microsoft has stood things on its head by putting the onus on you, the user, to exercise your privacy rights. If you don’t want your creative work used to help train its AI algorithm, which in the end might compete directly or indirectly with your work, you need to opt out (unless you want to stop using MS Word altogether). Microsoft, however, is not suggesting this as a preferred option, or even letting it be widely known that it exists as an option. In fact, when you go into Settings to opt out you are presented with this little gem; “The Trust Center contains security and privacy settings. These settings help keep your computer safe. We recommend that you do not change these settings”.
But that is exactly what you must do if you want to keep your creative content out of the hands of Microsoft’s AI developers. Here is how to do it, based on instructions from nixCraft.
On a Windows computer, when in a Word file, go to File in the top left-hand corner. There is a drop-down menu. You want to go to Options. On my computer the Options choice does not show up unless you hit the arrow at the bottom of the page for “More”. When you get to Options, go to Trust Center (left side menu), then Trust Centre Settings. Next up is Privacy Options which leads you to Optional Connected Experiences. This box is checked for you. You want to uncheck it. To save the setting you will have to log out of Word and then log back in.
Not simple. Not intuitive. But worth doing, even if only as a matter of principle. Office365, unlike Google Search or Bing, is not free. We pay to use it through an annual subscription. Even the tired old argument that you are providing your data as a sort of payment for “free” use of a platform’s service does not apply in this case. Microsoft needs more data to feed its AI machine and yours will do just fine, thank you very much. Don’t let them get away with it.
