The issue
If you are a Windows PC user and have been one for the past couple of years, you are sure to have noticed some questionable practices coming from the developers of your Operating system. Since the release of Windows 10, Microsoft has faced quite a lot of criticism for a variety of reasons regarding their latest product. One particularly irritating aspect in relation to the newest Windows OS is the way it has been promoted ever since it got released. The idea was that users no longer needed a bootable disk or USB device in order to upgrade their PC to the latest Windows version. The upgrade could be easily installed as long as the user has Internet connection. Though convenient and beneficial, this same factor has lead to one of the biggest complaints towards Microsoft, namely, their practice to go out of their way to further push their product’s installation .
Back in 2016, due to a high number of complaints from Microsoft users in Germany, an investigation was carried out by the Baden-Würtenberg consumer rights center. The accusations were that during the campaign to push Windows 10, Microsoft has forcibly downloaded over 6 GBs of data files on users’ computers without asking for agreement. Furthermore, there have even been instances of users having Windows 10 automatically installed on their PC, replacing their previous Windows OS. Many users were rightfully displeased with the unauthorized change and some even stated that they’d issue a lawsuit against Microsoft. It should be noted that in some instances of enforced upgrade to Windows 10, the process
Telemetry data collection and ads
In addition to the intrusive pushing of Windows 10, there were a number of other complaints regarding the new OS. Many customers and researchers have reported that Microsoft has been violating the privacy of its users by collecting personal data through the Operating System without providing the customer with an easily-accessible option to disable any gathering of private information. Microsoft has since fixed this issue with the release of the Windows Creator’s update in the spring of 2017. One other complaint that users had was that there have been unwanted adverts promoting Microsoft products such as Cortana, Edge and Bing being displayed within Windows 10’s interface.
Microsoft admits to the accusations
After a prolonged 18-month investigation and legal struggle, Microsoft finally admitted to have had been in the wrong by pushing such an invasive policy. Any further practice of pushing upgrades in Germany is to be ceased so that users would be able to choose for themselves whether or not to have Windows 10 files downloaded on their PC and their OS upgraded to its latest version. A declaration was signed by Microsoft where the company admits to the accusations and is now set to be faced with penalties for its privacy-violating policy. That said, this agreement does no seem to apply to other countries yet as Microsoft hasn’t addressed that topic. This means that it is still possible for users that aren’t from Germany to experience undesirable Win 10 downloads and even forced upgrades.
