Privacy, especially when it pertains to our identities and being online, is a huge topic these days. With so much of our lives online, it is a huge question on everyone’s mind. With all the missteps Microsoft has had with the launching of their XBox One console, privacy again is at the forefront. This time, the issue is regarding advertising and third-party usage.
According to a story on AdAge, one of the Microsoft marketing heads for the XBox One has laid out clues that XBox data may be available to advertisers.
According to Yusuf Mehdi, “We have a pretty unique position at Microsoft because of what we do with digital, as well as more and more with television because of XBox.” He went on to add, “It’s early days, but we’re starting to put that together in more of a unifying way, and hopefully at some point we can start to offer that to advertisers broadly.”
With XBox being lauded as a complete entertainment center that integrates with existing television services, one has to wonder how such data would and could be used by advertisers as Microsoft releases such information. Apparently, however, this information is available only if a user opts in to share the data of its console with Microsoft.
After initial publication of this story on AdAge, Larry Hryb, known as Major Nelson, tweeted a clarification on Microsoft’s and the Xbox utilization of data.
Tl;dr We do not collect information to share or sell. You are fully in control of your personal data. Your privacy is important to us.(2/2)
— Larry Hryb (@majornelson) October 7, 2013
The XBox One is still slated to be released November 22, 2013, for $499, just in time for the holiday season.
