The Microsoft website How-Old.net makes the round in social networks: It guesses the age and sex of people on uploaded photos – with mostly entertaining fluctuations in accuracy. The new facial recognition API (programming interface) of the Redmonder is used. As a hosting platform, Microsoft is using its “Azure Cloud” platform. And these terms and conditions of use (terms of service) are a cause for concern.
The Terms of Service of Azure states, "By posting, uploading, entering, and making available your content, you grant Microsoft and its affiliates the full rights to use your content in all associated services, including copying, Publishing, shipping, processing and further licensing of such rights to any provider of such services. " Say: Upload something on the Azure servers, it's Microsoft and all who pay for it.
Even if the homepage of How-Old.net states that pictures are not saved, the entry in the Terms of Services leaves a bland taste for the later use of the webhosting and cloud service Azure. Of course, it is unlikely that Microsoft will later print individual photos from user and corporate websites to huge advertising posters. But the possibility is given and the fact that users make copyrights with the host is not only likely to piss on companies.
Such business practices have not been a novelty since Facebook and Co.. However, Microsoft Azure is not a social network, on which users sometimes share a picture or publish status contributions. Azure is supposed to be hoster, cloud service, an all-in-one platform for apps and more. At this point, Microsoft should provide more transparency and customize one or the other in the terms of use.
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