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I’m scoping out Box for my team and have the following questions about using the native Microsoft Office integration. 

  1. In using Microsoft products, does Microsoft have access to our data?
  2. It seems like if we use Microsoft Office Online through Box.com, we don’t need to separately pay for Microsoft Office -- is that correct? What if we want to open files on Microsoft Office for desktop? 

Hi ​@groovyk, 

Welcome to Box Community and we’d love answer your questions in regards to Box for Office integrations. 

To answer your questions, 

  1. In using Microsoft products, does Microsoft have access to our data?

When a user edits a file in Box using Microsoft Office Online, the file is sent securely over HTTPS to Microsoft’s servers for rendering and editing. Some data is cached temporarily (up to 30 days) on Microsoft’s side but not permanently stored by Box. Microsoft handles license checks and access control directly. Therefore, Microsoft does have access to the content during editing sessions as it processes the files on their servers.

 

  1. It seems like if we use Microsoft Office Online through Box.com, we don’t need to separately pay for Microsoft Office -- is that correct? What if we want to open files on Microsoft Office for desktop? 

Free Box users do not need to pay separately for Office Online, but paid Box users must have a valid Office 365 Business license.

Opening files with Microsoft Office desktop apps is independent of the online integration and works with local licenses and installations.

 

To get to know more about Box for Office integrations, please see this article.

 

Hope it helps, and have a safe weekend ahead! 

Thanks so much for your response. I’d like to ask for clarification on your response to question #1 since I don’t understand the implications of what you shared. 

  1. By using the Microsoft Office integration with Box, can Microsoft provide or sell our data to advertisers? 
  2. Hypothetically if the government asked Microsoft for any data related to our account (meta data or file content), would Microsoft have the access to provide it? 
  3. Separate question re: Box’s privacy policy, are there any humans or AI bots that can read or access our data (assuming that we have the AI features disabled)?

Thank you!!

 

 

Clarification on question #1: 

By using the Microsoft Office integration with Box, can Microsoft provide or sell our data to advertisers OR third-party data brokers? 

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