Microsoft Copilot safety profile

What it does with your data

How staff sign in determines what happens to their data. In the consumer Copilot app, Microsoft says it uses voice and conversation activity for AI training unless the user opts out. That includes uploaded images and files. Microsoft’s privacy FAQ says this training section applies to the older version of the app. An updated version is now available, and the pages checked do not describe training for it.

Some groups are excluded from training:

• People signed in with an organizational Entra ID account
• People using Copilot inside Microsoft 365 Personal or Family
• People who are not signed in
• Signed-in users under 18
• Users in Brazil, China (excluding Hong Kong), Israel, Nigeria, South Korea and Vietnam

Even where training applies, Microsoft says it does not train on account profile data, email contents, or identifiers such as names, phone numbers and addresses.

Staff cannot opt out of human review. Microsoft says limited human review happens when a Code of Conduct violation is suspected. In the consumer app, conversations are kept for 18 months by default.

Settings to change first

The vendor pages checked do not give a setting name or menu path for the training control. Microsoft’s privacy FAQ points to a separate privacy controls article for the steps, and that article was not checked. Here is what you can do this week:

1. Decide that work use happens through organizational Entra ID accounts. Those accounts do not see the training setting because their conversations are not used for training.
2. If anyone uses the consumer app with a personal Microsoft account, have them find the training control and turn it off. Opting out covers future conversations until they opt back in. Earlier conversations are not covered, so step 3 matters. They can keep personalization on and still opt out.
3. Delete conversations staff no longer need. Individual chats or the whole history can be deleted at any time.

Free and paid tiers

The consumer app is the main concern. Paid Microsoft 365 home plans and work accounts are treated differently.

How staff use Copilot	Training on content	Retention
Consumer Copilot app (older version)	Yes by default, opt-out for signed-in users	18 months by default, files deleted within 18 months
Microsoft 365 Personal, Family, Premium or Pro	Prompts, responses and files not used to train foundation models	No period stated, and history persists in some apps but not others
Organizational Entra ID account	Excluded from consumer training	Falls under Enterprise Data Protection, not checked

In the home plans, optional feedback may be used to improve Copilot, but Microsoft says it is not used to train foundation models.

Admin controls

Admin controls only come into play when staff use organizational Entra ID accounts. Microsoft says it helps commercial customers use “tenant boundaries and other controls we provide” to identify and manage data they own. The privacy FAQ gives no specifics and refers to a separate Enterprise Data Protection page, which was not checked.

Certifications and audit reports are not documented in the pages checked. Neither is where data is stored or processed, or whether you can choose a region. Your IT support person or Microsoft account contact should be able to point you to the right documents. Until you have them, treat these as open questions.

Using it with donor and client data

Use Copilot for work only through organizational Entra ID accounts. Do not let staff use the consumer app with personal Microsoft accounts for anything involving donors or clients, because that app trains on conversations by default.

Whatever account staff use, never paste in:

• Donor names together with gift amounts or giving history
• Client case notes or anything that identifies a person you serve
• Health information, payment card numbers or bank details

Microsoft says it does not train on names, phone numbers and addresses, but staff cannot opt out of human review in the consumer app. Keep sensitive details out entirely.

Before staff use Copilot with donor data, ask Microsoft to confirm in writing:

• Which certifications and audit reports cover your account
• Where your data is stored and processed
• What Enterprise Data Protection covers and how long work conversations are kept

Questions people ask

Does Copilot train on what my staff type?

That depends on the account. The older consumer app trains on conversations by default unless the user opts out. Organizational Entra ID accounts and Copilot in Microsoft 365 Personal or Family are excluded from training.

Can someone at Microsoft read our conversations?

In the consumer app, yes, in limited cases. Microsoft says limited human review happens when a Code of Conduct violation is suspected. There is no opt-out from this review.

How long does Microsoft keep our chats?

In the consumer app, conversations are kept for 18 months by default, and uploaded files are deleted within 18 months. You can delete single chats or the whole history at any time. For work accounts, the pages checked do not state a retention period.