I don’t get it. I. Just. Don’t. Get. It. A recent study commissioned by the Dutch Government found that Microsoft was collecting individual user data from the enterprise version of Office 365 including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook without any public disclosure of the practice and without any way of turning the telemetry off.
When word leaked out that Microsoft was doing this in the personal versions of Windows 10, I shook my head sadly wondering why anyone would pay to be spied on. I couldn’t imagine that corporations, let alone governments would tolerate that sort of malfeasance, proving, once again, my infinite capacity for naiveté.
You would think that the Dutch Government upon discovering this would have told Microsoft to “get the hell out of our country and take your malware with you.” But no. Instead they are doubling down and considering using the Web version of Office 365 and letting Microsoft store their data for them. No, really: go read the article if you don’t believe me.
Microsoft is promising to behave and install a “zero-exhaust” switch to turn the collection off. They’re also promising to be more transparent and provide tools so users can see what sort of data is being collected (it’s currently encrypted so no one but Microsoft knows). A cynic might suspect that what these promises really mean is, “we’ll try harder not to get caught again.”
If you had any illusions that Microsoft had become “kinder, gentler” after the Gates and Ballmer regimes, this should put your delusions to rest.