I received a notice about violating Microsoft’s terms of use or policy, claiming I posted under the Microsoft Store.

Question

I received a notice about violating Microsoft’s terms of use or policy, claiming I posted under the Microsoft Store.

Anonymous

Is this email fake? It doesn’t explain who or what reported anything, or what the removed comments were. I don’t recall ever posting comments in the Microsoft Store—I’ve only submitted feedback in the Feedback Hub on bug reports and related issues, not in the Microsoft Store on Windows. I’ve been using my Series X console and am on Insider Delta firmware for the new Discs to Digital feature. If reviews aren’t allowed, they should have made that clear, especially since the feature is still available. If that’s what caused this, I reported and blocked the email from [email protected] because I suspect it’s not actually from Microsoft and might be a scam to get us to click their link. The email had links included if you need to check further. I wasn’t sure which tags to use, but the email came to my Outlook today on Desktop and not my Xbox Series X console.

Violation of our policy

Hello, [User’s Account Name].

Content linked to your account was flagged by Microsoft as violating our terms, policies, or code of conduct. The details are as follows:

Service or product used: Microsoft Store on Windows

Policy violated: Off Topic Comments

Actions taken: We have removed the violating content.

Service or product used: Microsoft Store on Windows

Policy violated: Off Topic Comments

Actions taken: We have removed the violating content.

If you believe this determination is wrong, you have 6 months to submit an appeal.

Submit an appeal

European Union citizens only: If any appeal you make to Microsoft is unresolved, you have the right to choose an out-of-court dispute resolution body within the EU that is certified by the Digital Services Coordinator of your EU Member State. Read more

added Regenerated tags, feature was not working before my edit.

No further emails have come about it, and I tried their appeal link even though it might not be safe to click on. I figured if it was an official email, maybe it’s okay, but I don’t like clicking email links. It seems kind of fishy, especially since I haven’t written any reviews under Windows 11 in the Microsoft Store in the last year, so it would have to be much older, like two years or more. Why something got flagged now is unclear. I don’t use bad words in reviews, and it says “off topic,” but since I don’t even know what the topic was in the first place, I have no clue what they’re talking about. That’s why I mentioned in the appeal that I think it’s related to the discs-to-digital feature on the Series X. I also reported this issue to Reddit’s page for Insiders.

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Anonymous

2026-09-05T02:53:33.3533333+00:00

and to clarify I’m not planning to write any more reviews for disc-based games on digital platforms right now, and that feature might even be removed in the future. From what I recall, someone at Microsoft wanted to limit reviews to digital content, stopping disc owners from posting game reviews. On PS5 and PS4, reviews aren’t allowed at all, and the ones you find elsewhere are often low quality or written by people who don’t really care about the games, whether positive or negative. I’ve never relied on them when deciding to buy a game—I prefer watching YouTube videos from real gamers or official clips from developers. I don’t like it when YouTubers make things up about games; for example, Marvel’s Wolverine already has bad pre-order video reviews on YouTube claiming it’s copying other games’ battle mechanics or talking about a scent-tracking ability, even though the game hasn’t been released yet. People are criticizing a preview clip, not the final product. It’s still a game I might eventually get for my PS5 Pro as an X-Men fan and yes I play Spiderman games too besides my Zelda and Final Fantasy games on PS5 console, but not for our Series X since it won’t be available there. Even so, some of those videos are just clickbait. There’s a reason why Sony and PlayStation don’t allow reviews for PS4 and PS5 games, and Nintendo doesn’t allow them for their titles either. Just imagine the kinds of reviews Mario or Zelda would get if they were allowed—both good and bad.

1 answer

Anonymous

2026-09-05T02:53:33.3533333+00:00

and to clarify I’m not planning to write any more reviews for disc-based games on digital platforms right now, and that feature might even be removed in the future. From what I recall, someone at Microsoft wanted to limit reviews to digital content, stopping disc owners from posting game reviews. On PS5 and PS4, reviews aren’t allowed at all, and the ones you find elsewhere are often low quality or written by people who don’t really care about the games, whether positive or negative. I’ve never relied on them when deciding to buy a game—I prefer watching YouTube videos from real gamers or official clips from developers. I don’t like it when YouTubers make things up about games; for example, Marvel’s Wolverine already has bad pre-order video reviews on YouTube claiming it’s copying other games’ battle mechanics or talking about a scent-tracking ability, even though the game hasn’t been released yet. People are criticizing a preview clip, not the final product. It’s still a game I might eventually get for my PS5 Pro as an X-Men fan and yes I play Spiderman games too besides my Zelda and Final Fantasy games on PS5 console, but not for our Series X since it won’t be available there. Even so, some of those videos are just clickbait. There’s a reason why Sony and PlayStation don’t allow reviews for PS4 and PS5 games, and Nintendo doesn’t allow them for their titles either. Just imagine the kinds of reviews Mario or Zelda would get if they were allowed—both good and bad.

Answer 1

Just to clarify, this was about a Series X game review, not the Microsoft Store on Windows 11. The review was posted from the console, which I didn’t realize at first. I also wasn’t sure if reviews for Discs-to-Digital games were allowed yet since it’s a new feature on the console. The email I got was unclear, and since it seemed off-topic, I had no idea what it referred to. When I checked my console, the review was still there, so it didn’t look deleted on my end—maybe it was only removed from the PC side. This is a cross-compatible game unlocked by the Discs-to-Digital feature and one of the few available so far. The team reviewed my appeal, agreed it didn’t violate policies, and attached the deleted content with an apology. They closed the case and said I’d get an automated email. The appeal results listed the violation as “Off Topic Comments” under Microsoft Store on Windows, which is wrong since the review was for the Series X Discs-to-Digital game. The only accurate part is that it’s a cross-compatible game from the console. The appeal was granted, my content was restored, and I got separate instructions to access it. but again its text, was the review on a Discs to digital video game, that shares a Pc port of the same game, it somehow got flagged on my Xbox App, and of course the email didn't say that as it refer to Microsoft Store, or anyway, wanted to post a update on this matter. it's a cross compatible title with Xbox App on Windows 11.

So anyway, this problem is solved, and this review didn't even matter that much to me, as it doesn't affect me being able to play the game title in question, since it's a physical DISC for the Series X that I own, and grants digital access, its not really digital, but yet for that feature that is new.

MetalManTN 0 Reputation points

2026-10-10T16:49:01.4366667+00:00

I just received the same email and it was after reviewing a disc to digital game from my console in the store. Glad to know I'm not the only one. Hopefully they sort this out soon.