Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 4 Privacy Statement
Microsoft is committed to protecting your privacy, while delivering software that brings you the performance, power, and convenience you desire in your personal computing. This privacy statement explains many of the data collection and use practices of Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 4 (called "RDS"). It focuses on features that communicate with the Internet. It does not apply to other online or offline Microsoft sites, products, or services.
Microsoft Robotics products and services enable academic, hobbyist and commercial developers to easily create robotics applications and/or applications that require concurrency in a distributed environment.
Collection and Use of Your Information
The information we collect from you will be used by Microsoft and its controlled subsidiaries and affiliates to enable the features you are using and provide the service(s) or carry out the transaction(s) you have requested or authorized. It may also be used to analyze and improve Microsoft products and services.
We may send certain mandatory service communications such as welcome letters, billing reminders, information on technical service issues, and security announcements. Some Microsoft services may send periodic member letters that are considered part of the service. We may occasionally request your feedback, invite you to participate in surveys, or send you promotional mailings to inform you of other products or services available from Microsoft and its affiliates.
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.
Except as described in this statement, personal information you provide will not be transferred to third parties without your consent. We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, such as packaging, sending and delivering purchases and other mailings, answering customer questions about products or services, processing event registration, or performing statistical analysis of our services. We will only provide those companies the personal information they need to deliver the service, and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.
Microsoft 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.
Information that is collected by or sent to Microsoft by RDS 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.
Collection and Use of Information about Your Computer
When you use software with Internet-enabled features, information about your computer ("standard computer information") is sent to the Web sites you visit and online services you use. Microsoft uses standard computer information to provide you Internet-enabled services, to help improve our products and services, and for statistical analysis. Standard computer information typically includes information such as your IP address, operating system version, browser version, and regional and language settings. In some cases, standard computer information may also include hardware ID, which indicates the device manufacturer, device name, and version. If a particular feature or service sends information to Microsoft, standard computer information will be sent as well.
The privacy details for each RDS feature, software or service listed in this privacy statement describe what additional information is collected and how it is used.
Security of Your Information
Microsoft is committed to helping protect the security of your information. We use a variety of security technologies and procedures to help protect your information from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. For example, we store the information you provide on computer systems with limited access, which are located in controlled facilities.
Changes to this Privacy Statement
We will occasionally update this privacy statement to reflect changes in our products, services, and customer feedback. When we post changes, we will revise the "last updated" date at the top of this statement. If there are material changes to this statement or in how Microsoft will use your personal information, we will notify you either by posting a notice of such changes prior to implementing the change or by directly sending you a notification. We encourage you to periodically review this statement to be informed of how Microsoft is protecting your information.
For More 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 at robopriv@microsoft.com or at the following address:* *
Mail Slot: RoboPriv
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, Washington 98052 USA
Specific Features
The remainder of this document will address the following specific features: CEIP and Robotics Update.
Customer Experience Improvement Program
What this Feature Does:
The Customer Experience Improvement Program ("CEIP") collects basic information about your hardware configuration and how you use our software and services in order to identify trends and usage patterns. CEIP also collects the type and number of errors you encounter, software and hardware performance, and the speed of services. We will not collect your name, address, or other contact information.
Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:
For more information about the information collected, processed, or transmitted by CEIP, see the CEIP Privacy Statement.
Use of Information:
We use this information to improve the quality, reliability, and performance of Microsoft software and services.
Choice/Control:
You are offered the opportunity to participate in CEIP both during setup and after installation. If you choose to participate and later change your mind, you can turn off CEIP at any time by:
- Select Robotics Developer Studio from the Start Menu.
- Select Update and Feedback Options.
- When the dialog appears, check or uncheck the options as desired.
- Click on OK.
Robotics Update
What this Feature Does:
Robotics Update is a service that checks for available updates and allows you to download available updates for RDS.
Information Collected, Processed, or Transmitted:
Each time that you start RDS, if you are connected to the Internet, RDS will download a file from the Internet in order to determine whether you have the most up-to-date version of RDS.
If an update is available, RDS will present you with the choice of downloading the update or dismissing the window. If you dismiss the Window, RDS will not download the update.
If you choose to download the update, RDS will download the update from Microsoft and install it.
To check for and download updates, RDS sends basic information about your version of RDS and standard computer information to Microsoft. This information does not contain any contact information about you (such as your name, address, or phone number).
Use of Information:
We use this information in order to make the updates available to you and to improve and analyze the update service.
Choice/Control:
You are offered the opportunity to check for updates both during setup and after installation. If you choose to participate and later change your mind, you can stop RDS from checking for updates at any time by:
- Select Robotics Developer Studio from the Start Menu.
- Select Update and Feedback Options.
- When the dialog appears, check or uncheck the options as desired.
- Click on OK.