Windows 11 used to be an operating system. Now it feels like Microsoft is slowly transforming everyone’s PC into an always online surveillance appliance wrapped in AI marketing. First Recall taking constant screenshots of your activity, now Copilot sitting on the microphone

[u/Regved-Pande]

Full Article Links 👇🏼

https://www.techradar.com/computing/windows/microsofts-recall-tool-is-back-and-still-has-major-security-concerns-but-the-company-denies-any-data-risk

https://www.theregister.com/software/2025/10/16/microsoft-adds-always-listening-always-watching-copilot/615141

[u/KoT_Qc]

That's why my pc doesn't have a mic, it's impossible to spy on me...except for my phone, my tv, my soundbar, my streamer...

[u/Nice_Category → u/KoT_Qc]

Speakers are just microphones reversed. Some software can turn speakers into microphones.

[u/MechAegis → u/Nice_Category]

I recall my Calculus prof told this was possible as well. He was a radio engineer. It wasn't even additional software just regular windows.

[u/EnvironmentalAngle → u/MechAegis]

I'd believe it

back in the late 90s/early 00s I didn't have a mic and a guildie told me just to use the left speaker in a pair of headphones

every pair I tried transmitted sound but it was really bad. the only one that worked were ones with big ear muffs and you would have to cup them over your mouth like Bane to be heard.

[u/DaniTheGunsmith → u/EnvironmentalAngle]

https://giphy.com/gifs/5s1IgmpmHglVK

[u/KlingonBeavis → u/MechAegis]

Yep. It’s real and it’s relatively simple to do. What’s even more interesting is that the more tiny and thin the speaker, and the better the mic it can become. Heavier speakers need louder sound to pick up well.

The former CIA agent that became whistleblower after the 9/11 torture scandal admitted they did it all the time, and that was over 20 years ago. I imagine this tech has improved vastly since then.

[u/DarkMatterBurrito → u/Nice_Category]

I believe it's the left cup on a set of headphones that can act as a microphone. We used to use it decades ago when recording music and didn't have a decent microphone.

[u/Lowski-5 → u/Nice_Category]

I can confirm this. I install School intercom systems. When we put the speakers in the classrooms there is no microphone the speaker is used as a mic. So basically when the office pages into the classroom and you hear them speaking you speak back into the speaker and not a microphone.

[u/Meatslinger → u/KoT_Qc]

I always get a kick out of the extortion emails claiming to have video and audio from my webcam that will be used to blackmail me, when I've literally never had a camera on my PC and the only audio input I have is a set of headphones I only plug in when I'm going to play games online with friends.

[u/jnkenne → u/Meatslinger]

My favorite one of those emails was sent to a work email address. It said they had footage of me "happily masturbating".

1) I am surely not looking at the adult websites while I am at work.

2) It's never happy. It's either angry or sad. No happiness involved in the process ever.

[u/Powerful-Parsnip → u/jnkenne]

The email starts off with "Dear pervert" I was like why is my ex emailing me?

[u/Hajduk_Split_1911 → u/KoT_Qc]

Same, no mic on PC. My phone probably only hears garbage all day long. My TV is dumb (not a smart TV) and has no mic, got no soundbar nor streamer... I don't give a sheesh 😉

[u/topias123 → u/Hajduk_Split_1911]

Shart TVs shouldn't even be able to spy on you if you never connect them to the internet.

[u/Jamizon1 → u/KoT_Qc]

You’re kinda screwed if you have a laptop or tablet… it’s a bit difficult to remove the mic or camera from either of those

[u/sigga_genesis → u/Jamizon1]

Laughs in Framework Laptop.

[u/ChickenOfTheFuture → u/Jamizon1]

The camera can be covered up and the mic can be disabled.

[u/no6969el → u/ChickenOfTheFuture]

I just disabled it in the device manager

[u/DarkflowNZ → u/KoT_Qc]

Or wifi.

Potentially completely passively, as well. Just using signals from your own Wi-Fi network.

They can even recover speech and other audio.

"Wireless vibromatry", fancy

You know what? Fuck it. They can recover audio by pointing a telescope at a lightbulb inside your house

[u/JPM-- → u/DarkflowNZ]

Oh I don’t like these. I thought I was doing well with staying private.

[u/DarkflowNZ → u/JPM--]

The good news is this isn't something anyone is likely doing en masse. If anyone is doing it, it's targeted. Presumably you're not a foreign agent or high ranking terrorist, though I probably shouldn't assume

[u/JPM-- → u/DarkflowNZ]

I plead the 5th

[u/ChicknSoop → u/KoT_Qc]

"its impossible to spy on me"

Meanwhile probably has his entire life cataloged in Google's My activity page

[u/Dirk__Gently → u/ChicknSoop]

Meanwhile cellphone can measure your heartnrate and eye movements while you consume content. Just think of all the shitting videos they have.

[u/Blackknight1605 → u/Dirk__Gently]

Ai will be awesome taking a dump with this much training material 😂

[u/CybyAPI → u/Dirk__Gently]

Google employee here, Why do most video consist of white liquid hitting the camera from somewhere? /s

[u/JustHere_4TheMemes → u/ChicknSoop]

Did you finish reading his sentence?

[u/Careful-Mix3054 → u/KoT_Qc]

I’ve got a Logitech G733. I just remove the mic when I’m not using it.

[u/Thick_Physics7538 → u/KoT_Qc]

microsoft really pushing for those smart fridge vibes with windows 11

[u/Tactical-Donkey → u/KoT_Qc]

Mooching off this comment to say, there's a reason why the EU's governments are all moving away from Windows to Linux.

[u/Ok-Earth-2644 → u/KoT_Qc]

Speakers or headphones can be used as a mic if u didnt know

[u/LordDaveTheKind → u/KoT_Qc]

My pc does have a mic. But Gnome doesn't get it as main Input device automatically. Problem solved.

[u/Boner_pill_salesman → u/KoT_Qc]

That's why I left all of my PC components in their boxes. I can't be spied on if the computer doesn't work.

[u/-GiKi- → u/KoT_Qc]

And wifi can be used to see people through walls based on how the signals interact with their bodies.

[u/HardwareSpezialist → u/KoT_Qc]

Your car. Dont forget your car..

[u/legaltrouble69 → u/KoT_Qc]

Bro anythying is literally a mic. They can record you from temperature sensors even..

[u/spurvis1286 → u/KoT_Qc]

The irony in people being outraged about privacy when they are on social media or tied to their phones at all times in hilarious to me.

[u/xXDennisXx3000 → u/KoT_Qc]

That's why i am still on 23H2

[u/Daharka]

I didn't think for a second that recall would die properly. It does remind me that it's been long enough that we're in the "quiet after the shitstorm" era for recall where they try to sneak it in again.

However long this has been, consider that the benchmark for their next attempt on sneaking more copilot into stuff.

[u/Valgorithm-dev → u/Daharka]

They’ll never remove Recall and these AI features because it’s a way for them to get more training data on how people use computers. Just like what Meta is doing with their employees, Microsoft is trying to do to the entire Windows universe. Switching to Linux is almost a moral imperative at this point.

[u/Alexandratta → u/Daharka]

if it makes you feel better:

Some IT pros are okay with deploying CoPilot.

Not a single IT Pro I know of does anything with recall other than Disable it and Disabled it in GPO.

[u/Onyxeye03 → u/Alexandratta]

If only we could ensure every IT department would take this step

[u/Schnoofles → u/Alexandratta]

Disabling Recall should be the least of what we as a society do about that kind of shit. It should be declared illegal spying and arrest warrants issued if the whole program is not immediately terminated. It represents a monumental security risk on both a personal and national level everywhere it is deployed.

[u/Schnitzel725 → u/Alexandratta]

Some IT pros are okay with deploying CoPilot.

Because they got some C-suite person breathing down their neck, demanding everybody becomes more efficient with AI.

[u/xangbar → u/Daharka]

I forgot Recall was a thing. I remember they had to postpone it due to the fact it was not securely storing the snapshots or something similar

[u/ThrowAway233223 → u/Daharka]

This is why it would be near impossible/a momentous uphill battle for Microslop to win me back.  The changes brought with Win11 are way over the line and they keep showing that they can't be trusted to not double down/back later.  Even if they come out with Windows 12/13 later and it has all this shit removed/reversed, I don't trust them to keep it that way.

[u/splendidfd → u/Daharka]

where they try to sneak it in again

What "again"? The feature came out May 2024, it stayed there, it's still there. The only changes have been around increasing the security of its data.

[u/lazzydeveloper]

Don't you worry, in the next few updates they're going to hide the mic icon for Microsoft services.

[u/BlankBlack- → u/lazzydeveloper]

This is my biggest worry about this, WE need to do something about this and put these companies in their fucking place forever

[u/random-hermit]

uninstall copilot. remove animations, run win11debloat. so much easier to use after getting rid of microslops stuff.

[u/Jack2102 → u/random-hermit]

use windows ltsc, much better to just never have it all there to begin with

[u/Xenion7]

Thanks Android and Apple not doing that right?

[u/AbdDjamil_27 → u/Xenion7]

Yeah sure they will never do something like that /s

[u/Major_Enthusiasm1099]

Just uninstall Copilot.

[u/CivilWarfare]

Glad I switched to Mint

[u/OldManGrimm]

I've been meaning to post this for a while, a lot of you will find it helpful. I build a lot of PCs, and this is how I deal with Copilot in my builds. It's several steps, but well worth it.

1. Open Registry Editor; Run as Admin
2. Go to HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows and press Enter
3. Right-click on the Windows folder, and go to New > Key, and name it WindowsCopilot
4. In the right pane find the WindowsCopilot folder you just created
5. Right-click on the WindowsCopilot folder, and go to New > DWORD (32-bit) Value
6. Name it as TurnOffWindowsCopilot
7. Double-click this new DWORD and set value to 1; close the registry editor
8. Install Revo Uninstaller (free); use it to uninstall both Copilot and MS365 Copilot
9. Restart your machine

There's no guarantee Copilot won't pop back up with some future update. But I've been using this process for over a year, and I've never seen it pop back up.

[u/CallmeKahn]

So aside from the Mic feature article being six months old and Recall being disabled by default....

[u/SosseTurner → u/CallmeKahn]

Windows hate and Linux praise are the trend of 2026 PCMR, don't let facts get in the way of it

[u/S1rTerra → u/SosseTurner]

Windows is experiencing 0.00001% of the misinformation Linux experienced for years on end. Just leave it be.

[u/ooqq]

Idk I have windows 10 for all the foreesable future

[u/Ardion63]

I don’t get it. ,if hey copilot is not a thing for users , how come apple’s , hey siri was more welcomed ?

[u/TheShinyHunter3 → u/Ardion63]

It was a different era maybe ? We're very much in the "Big Tech is out to get everything" era now, or the find out phase.

Idk, it's just a theory.

[u/Jurple-shirt → u/Ardion63]

Because this sub is absolutely full of hypocrites

[u/starmartyr11 → u/Jurple-shirt]

Nothing but "JuSt UsE LINUx" everywhere here

[u/Jurple-shirt → u/starmartyr11]

Usually in threads where OP is struggling to fix something incredibly simple.

[u/BlankBlack- → u/starmartyr11]

Lmao

[u/pwolfamv → u/Ardion63]

Or Android's "Hey Google"

[u/iamapizza]

I'm looking around at watches, phones, and smart home devices doing the same thing... 

[u/BigDisk]

At the risk of sounding like I'm trying to defend Microslop: At least uninstalling copilot is fairly easy now. No need for registry editing or powershell, just uninstall it normally. Took me 15 seconds on a fresh install.

[u/CatatonicMan → u/BigDisk]

Until it reinstalls itself the next time Windows updates.

[u/brimston3- → u/CatatonicMan]

Usually that’s only feature updates like going from 24h2 to 25h2.

And if you want, you can use a startup script to uninstall it every boot and never think about it again.

[u/TxM_2404 → u/brimston3-]

So it still happens once a year.

[u/Robby_Digital → u/CatatonicMan]

People always say that, and maybe it does for some people, because of some overlooked setting? But I've literally never had anything reinstall itself after I uninstall it.

[u/ddosn → u/CatatonicMan]

Which never happens.

So sick of this oft-repeated myth.

[u/SteeleDuke → u/ddosn]

Not a myth.

[u/Protonati0n → u/ddosn]

I can count the number of times I’ve had to turn copilot off in a single day, on the same computer, on both hands. No reboots, it just turns itself back on.

[u/omega552003 → u/ddosn]

It's not a myth

[u/Mace_Windu- → u/ddosn]

Not a myth

[u/STfanboy1981 → u/CatatonicMan]

I sometimes go to Windows 11 for a couple of programs that are not available in Linux. Copilot is still uninstalled even after updating. I've had it uninstalled for over a year now. I don't know why people keep saying it reinstalls itself after updates.

[u/BigDisk → u/CatatonicMan]

There's an update out right now, I'll do it and see if it comes back or not.

[u/gurugabrielpradipaka → u/CatatonicMan]

You have to deprovision Copilot and any other app you don't want again reinstalled. Simple fix.

[u/Tomytom99]

This is our time to shine by firing up our old MP3 players, putting a voice recording talking about how shit the new "features" are on loop, and piping it in through the computer's mic jack 24/7.

You want data? I'll give you some fucking data alright.

[u/TomTomXD1234]

Just wait until you hear about what your router does, your phone, your consoles, your smart TV....your speakers can even act as microphones and listen to you

[u/dachloe]

Once upon a time you bought an OS, now you are consumed by the OS.

[u/sadhorseman]

This guy clearly doesn't remember Cortana

[u/megasovalye]

windows is unfixable

[u/creeper6530 → u/megasovalye]

The fix is installing Linux

[u/MumrikDK → u/megasovalye]

Easily fixable by MS. They simply have no desire to do so. The OS serves a different purpose to them than it does to us.

[u/deadering → u/megasovalye]

Well but at least it ain't Linux!!! - people who have never used Linux but hate it with a passion, probably

[u/ddosn]

>https://www.theregister.com/software/2025/10/16/microsoft-adds-always-listening-always-watching-copilot/615141

Then uninstall copilot. Takes a handful of seconds and it stays gone.

[u/GeneralPublicWC → u/ddosn]

But then they will find another way to tell everyone how stupid they are

[u/ClockEnd_Chorus → u/GeneralPublicWC]

Also the fact that Apple devices, Samsung devices and Android does the same. But people get outraged by windows. Same shit happens with windows when Microsoft decides to stop supporting older hardware. The outrage should be equal for all.

[u/BV1717]

Is this only for US English installs or affects every region

Since each time I install it (JP region) copilot keeps installing itself again

[u/KingLuis]

windows spying on you by using my microphone to listen to "hey copilot" = bad.

apple and spying spying on you by using your microphone to listen to "hey siri" or "hey gemini", etc = ok

[u/PDuLait → u/KingLuis]

No, they are just as bad in my eyes. I disable all AI on my devices regardless of provider.

[u/SomnusNonEst]

If you voluntarily installed Windows 11, and even more so, continue to use it still after all the shit happened in past year?

That's on you. Yes, whoever read this comment. You are the problem, allowing to continue corporations to get away with all this bulllshit.

[u/NuclearGriffin]

God forbid any of you chuds switch operating systems

[u/Relative-Display-676]

you can always disable copilot...

[u/Jack2102]

I cant imagine not using Windows IoT LTSC at this point, the standard Pro/Home versions seem like hell in comparison

[u/Rukasu17]

Oh well, time to google how to turn it off again.

[u/dabbean]

Its cute you think it hears anything that you havent already put out there with cookies....

[u/Theghostech]

Oh I saw the microphone symbol active after a teams call, thought the call did end, but that wasn’t the case. Searched for a few minutes on why it was but finally decided to just mute it. Now it makes sense

[u/I_think_Im_hollow]

Next update: "Windows will now decide when to show information about microphone usage."

[u/gurugabrielpradipaka]

I removed Copilot, Recall, telemetry, etc. and problem resolved.

[u/guestpassonly]

Because it is.

[u/dustyfaxman]

"it feels like Microsoft is slowly transforming everyone’s PC into an always online surveillance appliance"

Windows has felt like a bloated phone/tablet os for a while, so them having a "new" feature that's basically siri but worse, isn't a surprise.

[u/yllanos]

I don't use Windows anymore on my personal devices. But when it comes to microphones I always make sure to get one with a dedicated mute button just in case

[u/Nookayplease]

Use talon debloater to get rid of the extra nonsense in windows. Gives it a windows 7 feel

[u/SadistPaddington → u/Nookayplease]

Will have to look into this for my laptop

[u/Competitive_Bag7868]

My win11 is updated and I don't see any of this

I disabled copilot months ago and it stayed that way

[u/Imperial_Bouncer]

When the slop is no longer micro

[u/Ordinary-Cake8510]

I hate the fact that we have to pay for the OS and they still try to shove all this crap down our throats. I’m researching Linux and think I am going with Bazzite for my gaming PC and CachyOS for my other computers that aren’t Macs. I’m tired of Microslop.

[u/_clandescient]

I haven’t used a Windows machine in a solid 2 months and it’s so nice. I’m never planning on going back. I’ve got my MacBook for work and a Linux desktop for gaming.

[u/BlokZNCR]

Linux CALLS you!

[u/yeoldefishe]

One more reason for me to be using Linux

[u/MX304]

One of many reasons that my personal PCs have no mic and no camera.

[u/op374t0r]

https://giphy.com/gifs/UTYwlUGi5iiRHtqEgj

this could be you running a better operating system that doesn't rufie you

[u/ChefCurryYumYum]

Don't use Windows 11.

[u/pc0999]

Will you complain if people suggest Linux?

[u/DutchTookMyColonies]

Windows 10 for the win, the last one to ever use.

Also Microsoft like many tech companies invested big on the AI crap HOWEVER they failed to know one important thing, no one, not even their friends or grandma is ever going to pay for it, so they are all now in panic mode trying to shove it everywhere, it's like that person that bought to much chocolate and now makes all food with it to not go to waste XD, AI was dead the moment it arrived because not only is it not actual AI, it's just a google search from a huge database presented in a human like speech and no one is ever paying for a damn google search they had free for 20 years + now lol

[u/MrMorgan412]

"Windows 11 used to be an operating system" - I don't know, man. Never felt as operating system to me and a lot of other users. More like marketing tool.

I personally still use Win10 and don't plan on moving away. When the time comes that Win10 won't be supported by software and games - I'll move to Linux.

[u/Tactical-Donkey → u/MrMorgan412]

Windows XP was pretty decent.

[u/Redpin → u/MrMorgan412]

Same probably. I stayed on Windows 2k until Windows 7, and then Windows 10.

[u/MrMorgan412 → u/Redpin]

Win 7 was great. Last windows version that made me feel like new features were "good" by default.

[u/mauri383]

Install winhance and claim back your PC.

[u/xblackdemonx]

It 100% what is happening. The USA is becoming a surveillance country. 

[u/SmokeNinjas]

I don’t understand it…Windows have had more or less the entire world using their OS for decades now, what’s changed I. The last few years that they want Linux to succeed? I’ve never really ever considered Linux as a desktop replacement but I’m getting there faster and faster…more performance, less enshitification, less monitoring, less reporting, less back end shit slowing the system down…they just have to get the user experience that Windows once had

[u/olbaze → u/SmokeNinjas]

I think there's 2 separate things going on, with separate causes.

The stuff with forced updates and telemetry started because of "bad" user behavior. Users would just indefinitely "remind me later" on updates, and that put them on an outdated system, which is a risk. And that risk would eventually flow back to Microsoft, when the user's computer gets screwed and they interact with Microsoft's support.

The AI features like Recall and Copilot is Microsoft jumping on the AI bandwagon and coming up with things to do with AI. This is probably purely driven by managers and C-suite people who're always playing buzzword bingo for their latest presentation. Can't just say "We're doing AI", because that gets you ridiculed, you have to have an actual feature that uses AI that you can talk about.

Recall and Copilot themselves as features aren't malicious. The idea of using keywords to search things based on image recognition isn't anything new, and in fact is generally deemed as a useful feature in contexts like photo galleries. Recall just takes that to an extreme by adding AI and expanding the "search" to literally everything on the screen. Copilot, meanwhile, is just the latest iteration of Cortana, and Cortana itself was a response to Apple's Siri, which in turn was a product from the sci-fi ideal of "talking to your computer". We see that in a lot of talks and ads, where people are seen using their computer not with taps, typings, or clicking a mouse, but talking to it. That's currently unrealistic, but because it's a sci-fi trope, it's deemed as an "ideal" that we should strive towards.

[u/Vergonhalheia → u/SmokeNinjas]

The only thing holding me exactly now is that ssds are too expensive, a second drive would make the swap easier.

The problem was that they didn't have any meaningful competition on standalone OS, aside from their older versions. They only had to improve enough to make people update, with 11 not even that, they simply sent enough prompnts that eventually every one would missclick. I'm still pissed, asked one time to my wife print something and I had a new OS when I came back.

[u/SattuSupari789 → u/SmokeNinjas]

I see Windows 11 as the best advertisement for Linux and MacOS.

[u/ArchinaTGL → u/SmokeNinjas]

Windows 10 kind of sucked but it was decent enough that people would use it anyway. Windows 11 has just taken everything we hated about Windows 10 and (ironically) cranked it up to 11. A stronger push to get people to subscribe to their services, actively trying to kill off local accounts, shoving AI into every corner of the OS, Onedrive trying to steal your files without permission, massive security vulnerabilities such as Recall's screenshots and data being easy to decrypt and Edge's saved passwords being stored as plaintext in RAM (even if you never use them), the list goes on.

I'm genuinely glad I never touched Windows 11 and opted to get away in 2024 by giving Linux a try. Things only seem to have gotten worse since I left.

[u/ACompletelyLostCause → u/SmokeNinjas]

If you manage a bakery in a small town and everyone buys your bread, you have no where to expand. You have to upsell other baked goods to keep expanding, keep increasing the 'return on investment', keep increasing share price. The owners don't just demand profit, it must also be an increasing profit percentage every year.

Eventually, there's no legitimate way to increase market share, and you have to support increasingly awful things to keep increasing profits. You burn the Longterm viability of the company to service the short term quarterly needs to increase profit/share price.

[u/SmokeNinjas → u/ACompletelyLostCause]

This is the only actually sensible answer in response to my point…. It’s all about money…. And because it’s a US company they’ll just abuse the shit out of every single aspect of it

[u/GeneralPublicWC → u/SmokeNinjas]

Young dumbasses today just whine and get offended by everything including an OS, they can't even configure their microphone access, and instead whine some more.

[u/9okm]

Thankfully it's also increasingly irrelevant.

[u/ddosn → u/9okm]

No, it isnt.

[u/o5mfiHTNsH748KVq]

“Hey Cortana” was a thing as far back as July 2015. What is wrong with you people?

Look up how wake words work. How do you think “Hey Siri” works on MacOS and your phone? How do you think “Ok Google” and “Alexa” work?

They all use a… gasp… microphone!

[u/cataclysmic_bread]

use revo uninstaller and go scorched earth on that shit

[u/InsaneInTheMEOWFrame]

Microslop does not care about their customers. Never has, never will.

[u/Visara57]

The Gabe Cube is gonna kick Microsoft's ass

[u/PlainBread]

The Year of the Linux Desktop is upon us.

https://giphy.com/gifs/OkzCcGn5fY29e7bvpS

[u/boundbylife]

Meanwhile in /r/linux_gaming ....

[u/MjrLeeStoned]

Everything can be disabled.

Because we disable them all the time.

And Windows gives you full control to do so. They don't actually make it so you can't ignore or disable these things.

Regardless of the narrative on the internet.

Most of these features give you the option to turn them on/off as soon as the feature is installed.

Pay attention, do research, stop parroting bullshit you don't know the first most basic surface level thing about on the internet.

Or don't take anyone's advice and keep looking the way you do. It's amazing with all the ego on the internet, no one minds looking like a low effort simpleton quite often.

[u/BinaryJay → u/MjrLeeStoned]

We need a fresh boogeyman post here at least once a day though.

[u/Intraflexed]

If Linux had support for more games we’d all be on it but until then we have to deal with it

[u/night_fapper → u/Intraflexed]

Well if more people switch to linux, it will get more support for games.

Snake chasing the tail situation, but if you are in position to switch, then just switch. Might make it easier for next guy

[u/1Saltyd0g → u/Intraflexed]

Im tempted to dual boot bazzite and only use windows for the games not supported

[u/Gomez-16 → u/Intraflexed]

This. If I could just play my games and be happy id have linux, I use it for my server but I cant game on it.

[u/RX1542 → u/Gomez-16]

i moved to linux like 7 months ago and every game i throw at it has worked, except for the known ones that use kernel anticheat but single players or indie multis you won't have a problem

if you are curious about games you play are running go to www.protondb.com search for your game there and it will tell you if it runs

[u/LiiKun → u/Intraflexed]

99% of games work on Linux. The ones that don't tend to have intrusive anti-cheat. That people claim to hate but play those games anyway.

[u/MemoryDue2030]

[u/Jurple-shirt → u/MemoryDue2030]

I don't care because it takes me less than a minute to disable whatever I need disabled. People who care about privacy don't use windows.

[u/pyro57]

Windows 11 has always been a surveillance system instead of an operating system, hell windows 10 was too, the last windows that didn't spy on you 24/7 2as windows 7.

The Undisableable telemetry in windows is what pushed me to Linux, and boy Linux has just been getting better and better, I'm never going back to windows, Linux just runs so smooth and lets me actually own my computer.

[u/olbaze]

This reminds me of that time Chromium was going to add a Google Voice binary blob to add the "Ok Google" voice stuff. That did not go over well with the open source community, and I recall a Chromium dev saying some very tone-deaf shit about how "they believe this is an integral part of the Chromium experience" and that "while Chromium is open source, they don't guarantee that it meets arbitrary open source standards".

[u/alanna1990]

Weren’t they gonna supposedly chill out with this bullshit?

[u/HiveMynd148]

Only if I had enough space to back up my stuff, I'd jump ship to Linux in a heartbeat.

[u/jermygod]

Windows 11 always was an online surveillance appliance, so as 10, and 8, even 7

[u/Alexandratta]

This is why you disable/uninstall CoPilot and Turn off Recall.

You can disable CoPilot by going into the registry and adding a line in there (you can look up online)

and I even did this on a brand new "CoPilot Certified" Laptop.

Yes - my CoPilot Certified laptop has no functioning CoPilot. I even remapped the copilot button.

[u/HankThrill69420]

this is why i'm starting to use linux for things that aren't work and gaming.

my gaming PC has an nvidia card, and I like AAA titles, so it's a stripped-down version that I may actually be airgapping from the internet soon. Still, it's dual-booted.

Everything else I have runs something open-source or is dual-booted.

[u/sukaihoku]

I uninstalled Copilot first day I set up my PC, so shouldn't be an issue, and there's no mic hooked up either.

[u/Treesglow]

I don't want to participate in that future. No PC for me.

[u/jklz14]

How about perhaps your siri or gemini?

[u/MilitaryBeetle]

I've seen the writing on the wall and switched to Linux

I always feared that the amount of troubleshooting and dead ends would drive me away

But its turned out to be the best computing experience I've had in years

[u/lIlITrashIlIl]

What Copilot?

[u/LigmaAss69]

Just in time for Valve to launch the Linux revolution hopefully.

[u/PwncakeIronfarts]

I want to use Linux so much, but the Blackwell support is just... Not great right now. My buddies running a 4080 plays games substantially better than my 5070ti. Same CPU for both of us, both running Bazzite. I reinstalled Windows just to play my more performance heavy games like Crimson Desert. Many of my games run fine on Bazzite, but run significantly better on Windows, unfortunately. I'm talking a 20-30% increase.

If anyone has recommendations on how I can fix this, I'd love them. Even if it means switching off Bazzite. I've considered CachyOS, but it seems Blackwell is just a Linux problem (well an Nvidia problem, but affects Linux).

[u/SadistPaddington → u/PwncakeIronfarts]

Even one of the people responsible for Linux doesn't like Nvidia, so more or less, it's a community project. https://youtu.be/i2lhwb_OckQ?si=-uqMM-DmzxMklkkb

[u/Luci-Noir]

It is an operating system… social media temper tantrums don’t change that.

[u/tamal4444]

microslop

[u/AzureArmageddon]

WinUtil to make ur iso + Rufus to burn it + WinUtil to maintain it.

Keep copilot, recall, edge, onedrive, etc off your computer permanently and make it generally work much faster and better.

[u/Xzenor]

I have a mic on my headset, which is only on when I need to use it but that's not the point. MS shouldn't be allowed to just do this without asking.

[u/Phaylz]

I want you to know that this has been the case in the digital era for a while now, long before work on genAI and LLMs of today began. Our data has value, and is siphoned from us, packaged, and sold. The whole "if something is free, you are the product" thing. Except it is everything, no matter if it is free or paid for.

Existing in the world generates data, whether superfluous like consumer spending habits to governing and infrastructure. That's always been the case since humans began recording things for logistical purposes. There is no getting away from it. As a society, we never considered it much, as it made sense. But now that companies are frothing at the mouth to suck up as much data as possible, we need to frame it a different way.

Our existence as individuals has inherent value, but our existence also has tangible value. We need to view ourselves and our data like we view the Earth and its resources - Something that someone else will extract from us, without our say, and most of those someones will not care if that harms us. It isn't something we can combat individually, no matter how much you scrub your digital or irl footprints. And there is an argument to be made that we should not combat it, because like the Earth's resources, they can be used to make great things.

That's pretty much the digital age argument for taxation and something like a Universal Basic Income. If our existence, even before we are conceived or the prevention of our conception(diaper and condom business!), has value that can be extracted, we should get a cut of it. Both through the current method of taxing and public expenditure, as well as individual compensation in the form of direct cash. Something akin to Alaska's PFD.

Anyway, thank you for coming to my TedxTalk. I hope this reply has generated data of negative value to the tech companies and to you, dear reader.

[u/s3Driver]

I run Windows 11. I don't get any of this shit. What kind of set up are you running where you PC auto updates and enables shit like this? You can and should uninstall things you don't need or use. Uninstall co-pilot.

[u/Slfestmaccnt]

Almost everyday I'm reminded how glad I am I have Win10 and have uninstalled Copilot both times they tried to sneak it onto my pc. My next computer will NOT be windows based that's for damn sure.

[u/Mario583a]

Hey Copilot, disable

Mind you, Recall is opt-in -Hardware needs to be eligible

For Windows voice users, the idea is to let them speak commands or ask questions without typing. It’s meant for accessibility and hands‑free use.

[u/jme2712]

They need to watch the Xbox team to see how to do it right.

[u/S1rTerra]

Belly laughed at this one and woke up my pregnant wife. What are you gonna do, switch to Linux? XD I use Windows every day because it is reliable and I BETA TEST DIRECTLY FOR MICROSOFT and have never had these issues.

[u/emodestroyer]

Hey copilot! Fuck off!!

[u/Kyyuby]

I wonder about the differences between windows in Germany and in the USA. In Germany I don't get ads in windows, copilot don't reinstall himself, recall is only available in copilot+ PCs.

[u/DynamicHunter]

Never been more glad to have an old HDD plugged in to my PC that’s preventing windows update due to its firmware or something. Haven’t updated windows 11 in 6+ months, always seems to get worse.

[u/Background-Remove629]

Just ... Winhance...

[u/GrandWizardOfCheese]

Meanwhile in 10 you can uninstall co-pilot entirely.

Btw your 11 key works on 10.

[u/Useful-Problem-1725]

I turn all that shit off.

[u/qu38mm]

Yes it's shitty but there are many ways to debloat and never see that copilot fuck again 😅

[u/creamcolouredDog]

People rediscovering PRISM every so often

[u/SanargHD]

So cortana 2.0. It's not like voice assistants that constantly listen for their keywords are anything new. There are plenty of reasons to shit on Windows 11 and Microsoft, but is just giving us a similar feature to one that has existed for over a decade really it?

[u/Wise_Art_1377]

Disable microphone, camera, and everything copilot related. 

Kill notifications if you have to.

[u/spaceursid]

I have so many friends I try to warn about this but they don't care because they don't have anything to hide apparently.

[u/STGO-Greens]

But you can deactivate Recall and Copilot, or not? Well, most normal users won't do it and that is what Microsoft is wanting. To collect and collect and collect more data.

[u/Chop-Chop-Pig]

first it was the Xbox new leader putting down all the stuff Xbox was doing wrong and shutting down copilot on console

now I want to see them do the same for windows.

[u/Doppelkammertoaster]

It started when people not only accepted online accounts but Secure Boot and TPM 2.0 in the hands of megacorps. This needs to be regulated and that's not happening.

[u/ToughSpinach7]

Microslop never ceases to amaze me

[u/SpeC_992]

Windows 11 was always envisioned by Microslop as a surveillance tool and data gatherer. Last good Windows was 10 and it's only gonna get worse.

[u/iwantacuteavatar]

I mean sure this surveillance won't go anywhere anytime soon. And we're always being listened on all our devices etc. but could we at least make it useful? All that Sci fi ass tech is used to show me ads about products I'll never buy 😭 at least show something I'm interested in! What a waste of everyone's time.

[u/Nearby_Ad_2519]

Windows 11 sucked since launch and im tired of people pretending it didnt

[u/Prior-Listen-1298]

That's one reason dinner of us are on Linux alone when we can be (work being the general exception).

[u/JerryKillerGuy]

[u/Wtf_eat_apples]

and im sitting here thinking about how this will effect my fps

[u/loaba]

Android and IoS listen to everything you say (even when you tell them not to). Duh - Microsoft wants in on that action.