[niyogi]

It's too bad that microsoft continues to be villainized when companies like Facebook and Google have social networks and browsers respectively that have similar practices that users are even more unaware of when they use them.

Computers these days have become thin clients for browsers (especially for the typical consumer). Except for the occasional open of Word or Excel, you're in your web browser browsing the web and have a tab open for Facebook. With new features like "sign into your browser" or ad retargeting across the sites you visit today, consumers are already being subjected to practices that Microsoft at least gives you the ability to turn off piecemeal if you so wish. They're just doing so at the operating system layer instead of the browser.

Think doing so at the operating system is more criminal than at the web browser or website level? Consider that Google Chrome is moving to become "Chromebooks" and that Android integrates Google Search. It's already happening and we take Google's "don't be evil" mantra for face value while continuing to poke Microsoft out of sheer habit.

[yAnonymous]

So we should stop criticizing Microsoft, because Facebook, Apple and Google are not criticized enough?

That's some pre-school logic.

[Lendal]

Microsoft has watched Apple get away with this stuff for years and make billions off of it. Apple doesn't even offer an opt-out on most of it. Microsoft is at a massive competitive disadvantage by not leveraging the knowledge it has access to and offering those features that require this type of data collection. Microsoft is a publicly-held company, beholden to its shareholders and is thereby required to compete in the market against its rivals. As long as Apple is allowed to do it, it is therefore inevitable that everyone else will, too. Preschool logic? Sure, whatever you want to call it. It's life.

[krisdol]

Apple is not an advertising company, its a hardware company. While I feel it's going down the same route as Google, its current privacy policies are significantly better than any of its competitors. Furthermore, Windows 10 goes way beyond the norms by having permission to gather keystrokes and content from private and public files, and it doesn't allow disabling some of its privacy-violating features unless you purchase the enterprise edition. MS has turned the advertising-heavy Google Play experience into a desktop OS, and they're the first to do so, hence the criticism.

[hussong]

Obviously, people (especially knowledgeable ones) should be consistent in their evaluation of privacy issues across services. Grandparent gives good examples of potentially under-discussed issues. No one said we should "stop" doing anything.

[twerkmonsta]

Facebook and Google don't log all of my keystrokes across my entire operating system. As far as I know, Google doesn't even log keystrokes within the browser.

[ArtDev]

Facebook does for status messages: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131215/23260825572/faceb...

[twerkmonsta]

Again, logging my keystrokes in a single text input field is vastly different from logging all of my keystrokes across the board.

[partiallypro]

Except logging your keystrokes across the board is not what Microsoft is doing. Do you realize how absolutely useless that data would be? They are monitoring search queries, specifically in Cortana. They probably do the same for auto correct instances. They aren't logging all of your keystrokes.

[theli0nheart]

For a lot of people, Facebook is the board.

[clessg]

If you're on Facebook, then I think it's reasonable to assume that Facebook is recording what you do on Facebook.

If you use Windows, I don't think it's reasonable to assume that Microsoft is downloading your browsing history and keystrokes.

[partiallypro]

> don't log all of my keystrokes across my entire operating system

Microsoft isn't doing this either, they are monitoring your usage of Cortana/System Search and your selection of its suggestions (just like Google does for Google Now,) to improve their algorithms. This is really being blown of proportion. Reminds me of people freaking out about Palladium with Project Longhorn.

[niyogi]

How do you believe auto-suggest works?

[metric10]

You're comparing Microsoft's request to send ALL typing and "inking" (I assume that means touch and stylus events) to Google logging search terms?

No matter how you look at it, essentially reserving the right to install a key logger on your computer is unprecedented.

[jeeva]

But reserving the right, or just saying 'Look, we don't know all of the cases where a programmer will say "and if the user corrects this, tell us we screwed up"' (for the optimist) is not the same as sending it all.

[twerkmonsta]

Auto-suggest in the address bar? That's a far cry from logging every keystroke I make in the entire browser.

[neuronic]

Leprechauns, consulting an oracle, and simultaneously typing at Google HQ.

[fla]

Yes but it's an OS, not web services like Google of Facebook.

It is a whole new level of intrusion IMO.

[bitmapbrother]

Facebook and Google don't create shill organizations or hire political hitmen to create smear campaigns on the topic of privacy. Microsoft just solidified what hypocrites they really are. I guess they'll think twice about attacking Google again.