Microsoft has disclose what is being collected[0]. People just choose to ignore it and making conspiracy theories instead. So where is the evidence that Microsoft is lying?
[0] https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt577208(v=vs.85...
> Which would be needed to take into account when deciding on if that app should be used.
How? Neither iOS, Android, or Windows restrict HTTP. Any app can conduct analytics and unless you're running them one by one and analysing the packet dumb you wouldn't be the wiser. At least Windows tells you.
But that's what all this is about. Most other major operating systems conduct similar activities but there is no public outcry about that... Why the double standard?
> Yes, because Microsoft won't tell anyone what it's collecting!
Yes they do[0].
> That right there is undesirable behavior for many that we have plenty of evidence for.
But not something you can readily avoid. I'd go as far as to say that the vast majority of apps or applications send basic telemetry back to the manufacturer, it is the norm now, and has been the norm since before 2007.
let's quote them:
> Security. Information that’s required to help keep Windows secure, including info about telemetry client settings, the Malicious Software Removal Tool, and Windows Defender.
> Basic device info, including: quality-related info, app compat, and info from the Security level
Notably vague, no "conspiracy theories" needed.
And you're still missing the point that even the specifics that have been explicitly disclosed are still enough to be objectionable to some.
edit: I missed the much more extensive list of what is being collected via "basic" telemetry:
https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt577208(v=vs.85...
It's great they disclose more information than I thought they did, though this list is actually far worse than I had guessed.
> Most other major operating systems conduct similar activities but there is no public outcry about that... Why the double standard?
what other major operating system doesn't let you opt out of telemetry-like reporting?
Incredibly, incredibly easy fix: just let people opt out of telemetry reporting.
If this list is far worse than you'd guessed, why were you worried at all? Nothing on this list looks like personal information. It's basically just a hardware profile and useful but not invasive system information like when your computer crashes. It doesn't appear to record any of my information.
I would prefer source code, but someone will eventually do packet captures to figure at least some of it out.
People have been drum beating this privacy stuff for over six months now. But they seem to lack specific evidence, so now I invite you to present it.
In all of these discussions on HN, the only ones bringing up "worries" about Cortana features have been people defending Windows 10 (and now Windows 8 and 7) data collection. It's easy to disable and, if you choose not to use it, it won't collect data anyways. The same can't be said of telemetry.
> Which tells them when you launch a Windows 10 "app" and some basic computer information
Actually it's not clear what else is being collected, because Microsoft won't disclose what's being collected. Is there evidence that only data about usage of Windows store apps is being collected?
> But even without that setting/ability the apps themselves could conduct the same reporting
Which would be needed to take into account when deciding on if that app should be used. Just to be clear, that means the application I choose to run might be collecting analytics, but my OS is also collecting analytics on the applications I'm choosing to run because it thinks it should.
> Nobody can actually point to exactly what specific information Microsoft is even taking
Yes, because Microsoft won't tell anyone what it's collecting!
> and have even less data yet still to back up any claims
As a baseline, you yourself talked about how we know they're collecting information about application usage. That right there is undesirable behavior for many that we have plenty of evidence for.