# Microsoft Forms privacy rating

Microsoft's online form, survey and quiz builder, included with Microsoft 365 and free with a Microsoft account. Responses can be exported to Excel.

## Summary

Microsoft Forms scores 38 out of 100 (grade F) on the forms and surveys criteria. It meets 3 of 8 criteria: transparency report, tells users about requests and TLS configuration. It partly meets independent audit. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales and security headers. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade B-.

- Website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/online-surveys-polls-quizzes
- Jurisdiction: United States. Five Eyes member. Subject to the US CLOUD Act.
- Platforms: Web
- Home page trackers: none found
- Category: [Forms and surveys](https://privacyratings.com/forms/)
- Also rated: [Outlook.com](https://privacyratings.com/email-providers/outlook-com/) (Email providers), [Microsoft Outlook](https://privacyratings.com/email-clients/microsoft-outlook/) (Email clients), [Microsoft Defender for Office 365](https://privacyratings.com/spam-filters/microsoft-defender-for-office-365/) (Spam and virus filtering), [Microsoft Exchange Server](https://privacyratings.com/mail-server-software/microsoft-exchange-server/) (Mail server software), [Microsoft Edge](https://privacyratings.com/browsers/microsoft-edge/) (Browsers), [Bing](https://privacyratings.com/search-engines/bing/) (Search engines), [Microsoft Authenticator](https://privacyratings.com/two-factor-authentication/microsoft-authenticator/) (Two-factor authentication), [BitLocker](https://privacyratings.com/file-encryption/bitlocker/) (File encryption), [SDelete](https://privacyratings.com/data-erasers/sdelete/) (Data erasers), [Microsoft Defender Antivirus](https://privacyratings.com/anti-malware/microsoft-defender-antivirus/) (Anti-malware), [Microsoft Teams](https://privacyratings.com/team-chat/microsoft-teams/) (Team chat), [Microsoft Azure](https://privacyratings.com/server-hosting/microsoft-azure/) (Server hosting), [Microsoft SwiftKey](https://privacyratings.com/keyboards/microsoft-swiftkey/) (Mobile keyboards), [Windows 11](https://privacyratings.com/desktop-operating-systems/windows-11/) (Desktop operating systems), [Media Creation Tool](https://privacyratings.com/os-installers/media-creation-tool/) (OS downloaders and bootable USB tools), [PowerToys Command Palette](https://privacyratings.com/launchers/powertoys-command-palette/) (App launchers), [Windows Clipboard History](https://privacyratings.com/clipboard-managers/windows-clipboard-history/) (Clipboard managers), [SigCheck](https://privacyratings.com/windows-hardening/sigcheck/) (Windows hardening), [Hyper-V](https://privacyratings.com/virtual-machines/hyper-v/) (Virtual machines), [Microsoft OneNote](https://privacyratings.com/notes/microsoft-onenote/) (Notes), [Microsoft Visio](https://privacyratings.com/diagrams/microsoft-visio/) (Diagrams and whiteboards), [Outlook Calendar](https://privacyratings.com/calendars/outlook-calendar/) (Calendars), [Microsoft Bookings](https://privacyratings.com/scheduling/microsoft-bookings/) (Scheduling), [Microsoft To Do](https://privacyratings.com/task-management/microsoft-to-do/) (Task management), [Microsoft 365](https://privacyratings.com/office-suites/microsoft-365/) (Office suites), [Snipping Tool](https://privacyratings.com/screen-recording/snipping-tool/) (Screenshots and screen recording), [Xbox Game Bar](https://privacyratings.com/screen-recording/xbox-game-bar/) (Screenshots and screen recording), [Microsoft Translator](https://privacyratings.com/translation/microsoft-translator/) (Translation), [Windows Voice Typing](https://privacyratings.com/speech-to-text/windows-voice-typing/) (Dictation and transcription), [Microsoft Copilot](https://privacyratings.com/ai-assistants/microsoft-copilot/) (AI assistants), [Microsoft OneDrive](https://privacyratings.com/cloud-storage/microsoft-onedrive/) (Encrypted cloud storage), [Visual Studio Code](https://privacyratings.com/code-editors/visual-studio-code/) (Code editors), [Windows Terminal](https://privacyratings.com/terminals/windows-terminal/) (Terminals), [.NET MAUI](https://privacyratings.com/app-frameworks/net-maui/) (Cross-platform app frameworks), [ASP.NET Core](https://privacyratings.com/dotnet-frameworks/asp-net-core/) (.NET web frameworks), [Blazor](https://privacyratings.com/dotnet-frameworks/blazor/) (.NET web frameworks), [Microsoft Clarity](https://privacyratings.com/web-analytics/microsoft-clarity/) (Website analytics)
- Grade: F (38/100)

## Criteria

| Criterion | Answer | Note | Evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | No | Closed source. |  |
| No trackers or telemetry | No | Microsoft collects usage and diagnostic data and uses data about users for personalized advertising. | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement |
| No ads or data sales | No | Forms shows no ads, but Microsoft uses data about users of its services for personalized advertising. Document contents are excluded. | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement#mainadvertisingmodule |
| Independent audit | Partial | Forms is in scope of Microsoft's SOC 2 Type 2 audits. The full reports are only available through the Service Trust Portal after sign-in. | https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/compliance/regulatory/offering-soc-2 |
| Transparency report | Yes | Publishes counts of government requests for customer data twice a year. | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/reports/government-requests/customer-data |
| Tells users about requests | Yes | Microsoft gives prior notice to users whose data is requested, except where prohibited by law or in emergencies. | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/corporate-responsibility/reports/government-requests/customer-data |
| TLS configuration | Yes | Grade A | https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/analyze.html?d=forms.cloud.microsoft&hideResults=on |
| Security headers | No | Grade B- (65/100+) | https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/observatory/analyze?host=forms.cloud.microsoft |
| Modern web standards | Not tested yet | Not tested yet. |  |

Source: https://privacyratings.com/forms/microsoft-forms/
Edit: https://github.com/privacyratings/privacyratings.com/edit/main/ratings/forms/microsoft-forms.md