Microsoft is once again under fire for its efforts to monetize users at the expense of privacy, this time by mining data from Outlook and sharing it with 801 other companies.

Proton, makers of the popular private and secure ProtonMail service, are calling Microsoft out for the latest terms and conditions when installing Outlook for Windows. The new dialog comes courtesy of the EU, where stricter laws require companies to disclose how a person’s data will be used. Unfortunately, US users will never see this dialog box—since the US has no comprehensive privacy legislation—even though Microsoft will still proceed with data collection and sharing.

When a user installs Outlook for Windows, they are greeted with the following message:

We and our 801 partners (emphasis ours) process data to: store and/or access information on your device, develop and improve products, personalize ads and content, measure ads and content, derive audience insights, obtain precise geolocation data, and identify users through device scanning. Some third parties may process your data on the basis of their legitimate interest.

Again, Microsoft and its 801 partner companies can:

• Access information on your device
• Personalize ads
• Derive audience insights
• Obtain users’ exact location
• Identify users by the data on their device
• Microsoft says third parties can do whatever they need to in the pursuit “of their legitimate interests”

To make matters worse, as the folks at Proton point out, the new Outlook’s ability to integrate with various cloud email providers means that the app stores users’ passwords to their other accounts.

“Although Microsoft explains that it is possible to switch back to the previous apps at any time, the data will already be stored by the company,” German IT blog Heise Online reported. “This allows Microsoft to read the emails.”

This particular outcome is especially alarming since it gives Microsoft the ability to scan users’ email from other services, mine the data, and share it with its partners.

Google—rightfully so—receives a lot of flak for its privacy or lack thereof. As Proton points out, Microsoft has taken the search giant to task for doing the exact same thing it is now guilty of. To make matters even worse, Microsoft often resorts to these tactics in products and services that people are already paying a premium for, as opposed to Google, which often provides its services for free.

It’s little wonder that the European Data Protection Supervisor recently found the EU Commission in violation of the bloc’s data regulation for its use of Microsoft 365 since there is no reasonable basis to believe EU citizen data is properly protected when using Microsoft’s products.

Similarly, a German state recently opted to migrate some 30,000 PCs from Microsoft to Linux and LibreOffice in the name of privacy and data sovereignty.

In short, Microsoft Outlook has become abject spyware in the truest sense of the word. Any companies or individuals that don’t want their data mined should immediately look for alternative email solutions.