# Microsoft Defender for Office 365 privacy rating

Email and collaboration security add-on for Microsoft 365 that scans mail, links and attachments for phishing and malware on top of Exchange Online Protection spam filtering. It also covers Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive.

## Summary

Microsoft Defender for Office 365 scores 50 out of 100 (grade D) on the spam and virus filtering criteria. It meets 4 of 8 criteria: no ads or data sales, transparency report, tells users about requests and TLS configuration. It partly meets independent audit. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry 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/security/business/siem-and-xdr/microsoft-defender-office-365
- Jurisdiction: United States. Five Eyes member. Subject to the US CLOUD Act.
- Platforms: Web
- Home page trackers: none found
- Category: [Spam and virus filtering](https://privacyratings.com/spam-filters/)
- 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 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 Forms](https://privacyratings.com/forms/microsoft-forms/) (Forms and surveys), [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: D (50/100)

## Criteria

| Criterion | Answer | Note | Evidence |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Open source | No | Closed source. |  |
| No trackers or telemetry | No | Microsoft collects required diagnostic data from its products that cannot be turned off, and its websites use analytics and advertising cookies. | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/privacy/privacystatement |
| No ads or data sales | Yes | Paid business service with no ads. Microsoft states it does not use customer data from its cloud services for advertising. | https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trust-center/privacy |
| Independent audit | Partial | Office 365 is covered by yearly SOC 2 Type 2 audits, but 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 consumer and enterprise 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 enterprise customers of requests for their data, except where prohibited by law. | 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=security.microsoft.com&hideResults=on |
| Security headers | No | Grade B- (65/100+) | https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/observatory/analyze?host=security.microsoft.com |
| Modern web standards | Not tested yet | Not tested yet. |  |

Source: https://privacyratings.com/spam-filters/microsoft-defender-for-office-365/
Edit: https://github.com/privacyratings/privacyratings.com/edit/main/ratings/spam-filters/microsoft-defender-for-office-365.md