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The truth about Windows 10 spying on almost everything you do

You have probably heard the news by now: Microsoft has updated a controversial service
agreement that lays out in scary detail how your personal data is being used and abused – at least,
that’s what the major tech blogs are saying. But the reality is, even if you read the 12,000 word
service agreement, it’s still confusing and vague at best.

Horacio Gutierrez, Deputy General Counsel of Microsoft’s legal and corporate affairs, wrote about
the company’s commitment to transparency on the Microsoft blog in early June. This move, of
course, was preceding the new privacy statement and service agreement that accompanied the
release of Windows 10.

As he put it, “We are simplifying the services agreement and privacy statement because we believe
that real transparency starts with straightforward terms and policies that people can clearly
understand. As our services evolve, we recognize we must continue earning your trust.”

How Windows 10 is spying on you

The reality is, we can’t know what Microsoft is doing with your private data, but the release of the
updated privacy policy and service agreement can give us some great insight. Yes, these long and
tedious documents leave a lot of room for interpretation, but they also inspire something important:
a discussion about how data harvesting and lack of digital privacy has become normalized.

Cortana: your personal assistant, or spy machine?

Cortana is your voice-activated personal
assistant, much like Siri and Google Now. But in
order for her to operate, Windows 10 collects
your personal information to better serve you.
This includes calendar events, contact
information, alarm settings, what you view and
purchase, your browsing history, emails and text
messages… “and more”.

An advertisers greatest dream

You may not have realized it, but each user on each Windows device will be issued a unique
advertising ID that is tied to the email address they have on file. The idea is that you will be better
served through ads, because according to Microsoft, “Advertising keeps many of the services you
use free of charge”.

Microsoft will share this profile (created from information aggregated from your personal files) with
their partner ad networks – who in turn serve you ads on certain applications, like solitaire. If you

45 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – September 2015 Edition
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