Search engines
Bing privacy rating
Microsoft's search engine, which also supplies results to several other search engines. Searches are linked to cookies and Microsoft accounts to personalize results and ads.
Summary
Bing scores 32 out of 100 (grade F) on the search engines criteria. It meets 3 of 11 criteria: transparency report, tells users about requests and TLS configuration. It partly meets security headers, no profile-based ads and no account needed. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, independent audit and no search history logs. 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.
Score 32 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- No
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No
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
Searches are collected with IP addresses and cookie identifiers for personalization and advertising, and this cannot be turned off.
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No
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Funded by advertising, including interest-based ads.
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No
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
No independent audit is published.
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Yes
Transparency report Weight 2 of 3
Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds?
Microsoft publishes law enforcement request counts and outcomes twice a year.
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Yes
Tells users about requests Weight 1 of 3
Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it?
Microsoft gives prior notice to consumer users whose data is sought, except where prohibited by law.
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No
No search history logs Weight 3 of 3
Are searches stored without IP addresses or other identifiers?
Search logs keep the IP address for six months and cookie identifiers for 18 months before de-identification.
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Partial
No profile-based ads Weight 2 of 3
Are ads (if any) based only on the current search, not a profile?
Personalized ads are on by default and can be turned off in Microsoft ad settings.
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Partial
No account needed Weight 1 of 3
Can every feature be used without an account?
Search works without an account; synced history and personalization need a Microsoft account.
Automated tests
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Yes
TLS configuration Weight 2 of 3
Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better?
Grade A+
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Partial
Security headers Weight 1 of 3
Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better?
Grade B (70/100+)
-
Not tested yet
Modern web standards Weight 1 of 3
Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test?
Not tested yet.