U-M respects the privacy of its employees and seeks to foster a climate free from arbitrary or capricious monitoring of employees and the records they create, use, or control. The university may, however, need to access or monitor such records in accordance with Privacy and the Need to Monitor and Access University Records (SPG 601.11).
We strongly encourage you to store personal files, folders, email, or other personal data on non-UM devices and in non-UM personal accounts. However, the university recognizes that employees may have personal, non-work-related files and records on their U-M computer or in online storage space provided by U-M.
The university urges you to place personal, non-work-related files and records in a folder named Personal and Private. You can create more than one Personal and Private folder if you wish. You can put your Personal and Private folders in any location on your U-M computer or in your online U-M storage space, such as Google Drive and Dropbox; they do not have to be at the top level of your home directory.
With some exceptions as outlined in SPG 601.11 (for example, when required by law or needed to avert threats to IT systems), the university will not monitor or access materials in folders labeled with the phrase Personal and Private. No matter the U-M service, if you create folders or labels called Personal and Private, the university will treat the contents of those folders as non-institutional data and refrain from monitoring or accessing them in accordance with SPG 601.11.
Using Personal and Private folders and labels for non-work-related information facilitates the transition of that information in the event you leave the university, or are deceased or incapacitated. Keep in mind that the process for sharing information with next of kin requires legal documentation, which may be difficult to obtain, so it is best to store your personal files in non-UM personal accounts.