Holy shit, that quote. Did absolutely not expect that (even though I assumed thorough telemetry is sent to Microsoft itself).
I've been sitting for months on this article explaining my belief that advertising is a cancer on modern society, and I can't get myself to publish it, because literally every other day brings another thing I want to include on the list of damage being done. I'm not even actively looking for examples anymore; I just open HN and - lo and behold - top story tells me that MS Office mobile apps send data to US predictive profiling company, because of course they do.
A thought you could add to your article. In the medieval period in Europe, advertising outside your shop was strictly forbidden because it was considered an assault on your senses. I totally agree with this sentiment.
> top story tells me that MS Office mobile apps send data to US predictive profiling company
That by itself isn't necessarily damaging though, is it? Without knowing what company is getting the data, what data they are getting, and what they are profiling for, how can we come to any conclusions?
What if they are just trying to segment users into casual and power users and are using the data to guide future product development and design?
That said, the data sharing should definitely be opt-in.
> What if they are just trying to segment users into casual and power users and are using the data to guide future product development and design?
Is that something you'd hire an external marketing company for predictive profiling, though?
Sure, the quote doesn't give much information about the company and their use of data, but when evaluated in context of typical data sharing with third parties, it's highly damning until proven otherwise.
I've been sitting for months on this article explaining my belief that advertising is a cancer on modern society, and I can't get myself to publish it, because literally every other day brings another thing I want to include on the list of damage being done. I'm not even actively looking for examples anymore; I just open HN and - lo and behold - top story tells me that MS Office mobile apps send data to US predictive profiling company, because of course they do.