*Windows won’t take screenshots of everything you do after all (that the company will admit to without you knowing)— unless you opt in
Microsoft speaks… thhhhe bullllshitttt -lazlo voice
No one is going to opt-in to having screenshots taken of their activities on the OS. If no one opts-in then it will hinder Microsoft’s original plan of collection such data for copilot. Along comes the new marketing language to soften the approach and they still collect data.
No one would opt-in to having all of their personal files sent to the cloud. But Windows managed to get my father using OneDrive even though he had no idea what it was. He was absolutely pissed when I told him. Somehow that wasn’t enough to get off of windows completely though.
Still in the os…
WHY THE FUCK WOULD SOMEONE WILLINGLY OPT IN?!
Cause they’re going to show a pop-up that advertises some “cool new feature”, and the 99% of users who aren’t tech literate will say yes and never think about it again.
People on this site severely overestimate how much the average person cares and their overall level of tech.
Yup. Average user doesn’t know what pop or imap is and can’t use their tv remote to change an input.
People will be deceived into opting in via some UI anti pattern like they do with the online user accounts and onedrive now.
Because they’ll add it to the list of coercively and deceptively worded questions they force you to answer before you can use a WIndows account, phrase it so as to sound useful and harmless, and have a big friendly “Sounds great!” button and a tiny “No thanks, I prefer my life to be shit” link.
Ok, let’s assume (for the sake of argument) that everything is on the up-and-up, and Microsoft will behave in a completely equitable and user-friendly way with regard to this feature going forward. Where does that leave us?
There is a spyware feature built into Windows 11. It is off by default, but a malware that wants to capture this kind of information doesn’t have to install anything, and it doesn’t have to run any background processes that might get caught by a system monitor or blocked by application whitelisting. All it has to do is turn this built-in feature on, and then exfiltrate the data later.
Ok, let’s assume (for the sake of argument) that everything is on the up-and-up, and Microsoft will behave in a completely equitable and user-friendly way with regard to this feature going forward
This is so fantastical that there’s not point in even having the hypothetical discussion about it.
You’re right, it’s fantastical, but it’s still worth talking about.
It’s worth talking about as it solidifies the argument more than just assuming your opponent is acting poorly. The argument of “Even if Microsoft is a saint, it’s still a bad idea. But we know Microsoft also has a history of data collection, spying, anti-patterns etc.” is a much stronger argument than the latter half on its own
Microsoft will just enable it via an update once all the fervor dies down. They haven’t abandoned the plan, and won’t, not while your data is pure profit for them.
Hell with them, no more Windows PCs in my home. I’m sick to death of everyone and their mother trying to both advertise to me and sell my data without my permission and at zero benefit to me.
They’re just going to do a classical boil-the-frog operation:
- Step 1: Make it opt-in and present it as the new cool thing.
- Step 2: Make it opt-out, and if the users opts out, show a scary warning about how the cool thing won’t work anymore.
- Step 3: Make it opt-out, but hide the opt-out option deeply.
- Step 4: Remove opt-out, but it still works with a registry hack. Microsoft apologists will still thinks it’s cool because “just use this simple registry hack bro”.
- Step 5: Remove opt-out alltogether, and automatically opt people in who had previously opted out.
- Step 6: Enjoy their boiled frog!
You forgot Step 0: make an announcement so overtly egregious that when you walk it back, the compromise sounds reasonable
There’s no reasonable form of this.
No but there sure is a much more unreasonable form of this.
They already had this feature once in Windows 10, and you don’t remember because it doesn’t work like that.
“You can still install it with a local account!”
Just disconnect your network cable, press this magic key combination and type this undocumented command: “MSBLAOIGKSDF /ACZSF”
Do they really think we believe any of their lies? We don’t control Windows, anti-libre software (it fails to include a libre software license text file, like AGPL). Dangerous! 🚩
I suspect Group Policy will be fully effective at disabling this, and there’s a documented way to prevent it being installed and to remove it.
Imagine a massive corporation built on Risk Management, legal constructs and regulation, such as Wells Fargo, Capital One, CSC, Bank of America, etc, suing the pants off MS because this caused a leak of something, especially some data that’s strictly regulated.
MS wouldn’t stand a chance. Those places have ruthless legal organizations that know their world inside and out.
I still don’t trust Microsoft. I hadn’t bought a Windows since Windows 10, and this won’t change that.
…says the company that wanted to destroy every bit of your privacy. I don’t care what they “promise”, don’t listen to them.
Microsoft is finished. Install Linux.
They will just enable it by default later when the heat passes. They always do. You no longer own Windows.
Never did. It’s just more and more obvious with each new “feature” that it’s built for monetization, not for user functionality.
In the '90s and early 2000s, Microsoft’s business model was the classic one of selling products to customers. Today, it’s all about the cloud, advertising, and AI, where the product is the user.
My prediction is essentially one day windows pcs will be Linux that act like thin clients that go to windows 365.
If it’s an embedded feature, then I categorically refuse to trust that I the user will have sole control over the on/off toggle.
I am basing my suspicions on Microsoft fucking around with my user settings over several decades and Windows iterations.
Lies but ok.
I’m sure it’s corporate speak for 'unless you opt into opting out of Microsoft recording everything’s
I have zero reason to trust companies who are known to not be trust worthy.
And who’s to say they don’t have this ‘opt in’ setting enabled for a week then upon the first update, whoops…it was auto enabled for everyone ‘sorry…you must not out now and sorry not sorry but we already stole everything. See y’all next update!’
Who could have predicted this backlash?
