Xbox Shares Community Safety Approach in Transparency Report

At Xbox, we put the player at the center of everything we do – and this includes our practices around trust and safety. Online communities with more than three billion members are constantly growing. It is our responsibility to create safe and welcoming spaces for everyone, whether they are new players or seasoned gamers.

We are proud to release our Xbox Transparency Report today. It provides clear numbers and explanations about the work that we do on the platform in order to safeguard our users and moderate content. We commit to releasing a report every six months, where we will share updates on progress we’ve made. In Microsoft’s last Digital Civility Index, it was noted that 9 out of 10 respondents identified a need for increased education on how to make the digital world safer – and as we all know, gaming is one of the largest digital environments. The publication of this report is part our commitment to online safety. This includes addressing any learnings, and helping people to understand the importance of playing a positive role on the Xbox Community. This report compliments the continued review of our Community Standards, making it easier for all players to understand what is and isn’t acceptable conduct; continued investment in moderation tools; and ongoing partnership with industry associations, regulators, and the community.

Xbox is special to all of us. Everybody should be able to enjoy the thrill of gaming without fear or intimidation and within your boundaries. Over the past several years, we have invested in features and capabilities that help to make the player experience safer, such as the Xbox Family Settings App that gives parents and caregivers a convenient way to manage their children’s experience on Xbox, and acquiring community management leader, Two Hat, bringing its Community Sift technology and dedicated language and culture specialists into our safety portfolio. We also recognize that there can be and has been negative activity. Any conduct that is contrary to our Community Standards will not be tolerated. What’s important to us is taking a moment to pause and reflect on where we are in this journey and sharing that with you. We’ll continue to learn, improve and invest so you can have the best experience when you play.

One of the most important takeaways from the report is:

• We’re working to provide better experiences. More than 4.33M inactive enforcements were issued by Xbox against inauthentic accounts. This represents 57% percent of total enforcements over the reporting period. Most inauthentic accounts can be created by bots or automated accounts. They create a level playing field that is unfair and detracts from player experience. We are able to detect and stop bad behavior before it gets to players thanks 9x more proactive moderation than last year. We continue to invest and improve our tech so players can have safe, positive, and inviting experiences.

• The community’s stewards are the players. Our safety strategy includes player reporting. Our proactive safety measures have been enhanced by investments in scanner and filtering technology, education and support from the Xbox Ambassadors community. We also use reporting to improve our work protecting our players. Over 33M player reports were submitted during this time, with conduct (43%) and communications (46%). Our content moderation agents monitor our platform 24 hours a days, 7 days per week and 365 days each year, to ensure our community standards are adhered to.

• The players are the ones in charge Everyone is unique and each player has different preferences. There are many options for gamers to adjust settings at all points of their Xbox experience, including message filters and parental controls. You can control what content you see or experience on all platforms, from PC to console and even via Xbox Cloud Gaming Beta (Beta). It’s up to you, the players, friends, and family members to take control and implement the settings that are right for you.

Can you help us? How can you help? Your feedback will be heard and acted upon by us. We want to make sure you feel secure. We can all work together to create a place where our Community Standards are upheld and where everyone has fun.

Along with our safety team I would like to express my gratitude to the 150,000+ Xbox Ambassadors who helped to shape and preview the Xbox Transparency Report. Xbox Ambassadors are a global network of gamers that celebrate everyone’s uniqueness and work together to make gaming enjoyable for all.

Last but not least, share some extra resources