Xbox Live gets new mandatory terms of use agreement, Microsoft issues statement

Microsoft has posted information regarding a new Terms of Use - or 'TOU' - agreement for Xbox Live. It's a mandatory agreement that urges users to keep all personal data up to date.

The Xbox Wire statement mentions that personal data will indeed be shared across tethered Xbox apps and services, but this is not to be confused with recent fears that Microsoft will share personal data captured via Kinect. It is merely a cross-referencing and security measure when linking apps like Netflix to your account.

Here is the statement in full:

From time to time, we update and add to the features and services that we offer through Xbox Live. For instance, we recently retired Microsoft Points in favor of local currency. When we make some of these changes, it is necessary for Microsoft to update the Xbox Live Terms of Use (TOU). In order to continue using Xbox Live, you – or your parent, if you are a minor – will need to accept this updated agreement.

Later this week, we will roll out an updated Terms of Use and you will receive a notification on your console that you must accept the new TOU. For many Xbox Live members, this shouldn’t take much time away from what you’re doing. The Xbox Live Terms of Use is a legal agreement, and as a result, parents must accept the TOU on behalf of members who are minors – those who are under 18 in most regions.

We recognize that some parents may not sign into their Xbox Live accounts as often as others, and they may have trouble remembering their login details. Now is a great time to recover that information so that you can be ready when the updated TOU rolls out to your family’s accounts.

As part of the new agreement, we’re happy to report that parents will only need to accept the TOU once for all the children in their home. We hope this will make this process easier for our customers.

Protecting your account from unauthorized access and fraud is a top priority for us. It helps keep Xbox Live safer and more secure for everyone. That’s why the TOU now asks all users to commit to keeping their contact information up to date. By the way, now is a great time to make sure your security proofs are valid and accessible to you.

More app experiences available via Xbox Live are provided by a partner with whom you may have a separate online account. If you choose to link this account with your Xbox Live account, we confirm key data points across the accounts by sharing data such as your name, address, email address and date of birth with the partner. In this TOU update, customers agree to allow Microsoft to share this information in this manner.

Because Xbox Live is continually evolving, releasing a new, updated Xbox Live Terms of Use is an occasional necessity. We hope that by sharing this heads up, we can help make this process go smoothly for our members.

Meanwhile, in other privacy news, this third-party Xbox One Kinect mount features a privacy filter for those concerned about Microsoft's device.

Via MCV.