Microsoft’s ‘How-Old.Net’ Owns All Pictures Uploaded
If you have been on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media lately, then you have probably seen the Microsoft app that guesses your age. Well, if you didn't read the fine print, then you probably missed something really important.
Microsoft's 'How-Old.Net' has been all over the Internet this past week. One of the main reasons it has gone viral is because the age guessing tool so wrong that it is hilarious. There was even a picture where they guessed the age of Cheerios, lol.
Now, Microsoft isn’t planning to make the age guessing a fixture of its Office Suite. The tool was created as a demo for the company’s Azure cloud platform and services. But even though it isn't going to be a permanent feature, the real problem is in the fine print.
Here is what you probably missed.
"[B]y posting, uploading, inputting, providing, or submitting your Submission, you are granting Microsoft, its affiliated companies, and necessary sublicensees permission to use your Submission in connection with the operation of their Internet businesses (including, without limitation, all Microsoft services), including, without limitation, the license rights to: copy, distribute, transmit, publicly display, publicly perform, reproduce, edit, translate, and reformat your Submission; to publish your name in connection with your Submission; and to sublicense such rights to any supplier of the Website Services."
So what they are basically saying is that Microsoft now has the right to use any image you uploaded in any way they want. And the part about “public performance” just means that you cannot sue for copyright.
More than likely Microsoft will not use your picture for anything because they can probably afford better photographers and professional models, but they could. This is just a reminder to read the fine print! LOL. And if your picture pops up on a commercial, sorry you aren't getting paid!