Question Microsoft spy us?

[Pee wee]

Hi friends,

I hope you are all well!

Does Windows really pose a danger to our privacy? Are they spying on us? Or is it just PARANOIA? I think the only thing companies want is to get analytical data for later use in advertising and similar services, nothing more. I think they are not as important as people think. Honestly, I don't understand why people are still obsessed with these things.

How do the community feel about this?

B. REGARDS.

 

[Nemesia]

Look some people really like their privacy but most of them don't understand that the moment you're on the internet and you start creating accounts here and there all the data is collected.

Microsoft doesn't know your glasses prescription but they know how you use your pc, programs etc. They collect stuff to help with the OS and make it better. Microsoft does not sell your data to anyone etc. Well that we know of. Not like facebook.

People will tell you "I hate collecting data stuff" but will immediately go on their facebook and write down everything they did in the day, what they ate, bought and it's all there on their public page for everyone to see and than they whine about Microsoft collecting data.

I do not care if Microsoft see that I started a game or on what I click on my desktop and how often. Stuff like that. It's not like there is a person at the other side having fun looking at the data. It's pretty much a big automatic thing where they see the results in a nice chart / table and does not really look at individual data.

Microsoft Windows 10 is a very good OS. You just turn everything to off in the settings you don't like and the rest you forget about it

 

[USAFRet]

Microsoft and Windows 10/8/7/Whatever is not "spying" on you any more than any other service.
Almost certainly less than most.

TV service through your ISP?
Netflix
Amazon
Roku
Hulu

What search engine do you use?
Firefox
Google

Have a cell phone?

Waze
Uber/Lyft

Had a pizza delivered recently?

Have a credit card?

Facebook
Instagram
Snapchat
etc etc etc...

 

[hotaru.hino]

Some people don't like the idea of being spied upon, and yet they freely give out a bunch of information and really, humans are creatures of habit. The longer you stay on the internet, the more unique you become to someone who is determined to look for you.

 

[USAFRet]

And my list above doesn't even touch the next level companies and agencies that actively slurp up your data. And buy and sell that data.
Many that you don't know about or interact with. But they know about you.

DMV
Cambridge Analytica
Experian/TransUnion/Equifax
LexisNexis

 

[sonofjesse]

Privacy is dead. Companies collect data from the products and services you use to make the service better and also to market to you other products (OneDrive and office 365 for example). These other services such as O365 can bring value to the average user such as backup, and version history of files, collaboration etc.

What one would consider invasion of privacy (you opened notepad 57 times today and it crashed 8 times), another would view, MS now has data on how to improve it from crashing in the future, and if this happens only on 20H2, then they will have to do a patch to fix the issue (improve user experience). Another user, might say MS knowing anything about what their doing is an invasion, and these people either don' have computers or run another OS.

I find it funny most people with these questions use gmail, android phones and FB.............(you ARE the product)

 

[Ralston18]

And I am starting to think that even things like when I turn the TV on/off, change channels, etc. are being captured and collected.

 

[USAFRet]

And I am starting to think that even things like when I turn the TV on/off, change channels, etc. are being captured and collected.

If you have TV service through your ISP, absolutely.

But only in general terms.
They don't care that you did this.

Rather....1,000 people in this zip code did this.

 

[microtank]

All internet traffic is monitored and obtainable information. Just like the walkie talkie you call a phone. Proxy, firewall, vpn, Edward Snowden..

 

[Pee wee]

Thanks a lot @Nemesia, @USAFRet, @hotaru.hino, @sonofjesse, @Ralston18, @microtank.

I really appreciate it.