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The impudence of Microsoft has reached new (criminal?) heights
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rdl:
All browsers and the companies behind them are not the same.

Google is in a league of their own when it comes to telemetry and tracking user activities. Microsoft is doing the best they can to catch up. Avoid those two and the real problem becomes where you are connecting to, not what you use to connect with.


--- Quote from: m98 on June 20, 2020, 12:02:16 pm ---
--- Quote from: Mr. Scram on June 20, 2020, 11:07:52 am ---Unfortunately both come with lots of "telemetry", which is a cute name for sending your every move to the mothership.

--- End quote ---
Just like Google Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Safari...
You can also disable most of the telemetry. I don't care what the browser does out-of-the-box. As long as I can configure it, it won't influence my choice.

--- End quote ---
SiliconWizard:
Speaking of that...
"Microsoft Swiftkey" virtual keyboard got installed on my phone (Android-based) without me having ever actively installed or allowed it. I don't use it. I noticed it was there when it appeared in a recent update, and after the update, my phone battery started to deplete much faster than usual. I looked at the battery details, and this Swiftkey shit showed up as the number one source of power draw. Keep in mind I don't even use it, it's not selected as any of my input methods. I tried uninstalling it, but the phone says it's part of the system and can't be uninstalled. What kind of bullshit is that. I managed to "disable" it from the Applications list, and it stopped eating my battery, but it's still installed. :-+

I suggest anyone having a smartphone to check this out, Android or not, as it's also apparently available for iOS, and got updated recently.

Beyond the power draw issues, if you ever use this virtual keyboard, I suggest to be wary, as knowing MS's practices, I wouldn't be surprised if this app didn't "phone home" on a regular basis, possibly sending your inputs to some MS server one way or another.  :popcorn:
wraper:

--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on June 20, 2020, 04:26:36 pm ---Speaking of that...
"Microsoft Swiftkey" virtual keyboard got installed on my phone (Android-based) without me having ever actively installed or allowed it... I tried uninstalling it, but the phone says it's part of the system and can't be uninstalled.

--- End quote ---
That's impossible unless phone manufacturer included it in firmware update.
themadhippy:

--- Quote --- I switched to Linux Mint after 10.4 , as they threathened w. Unity.
--- End quote ---
I learned how to get rid of it and keep the classic old look.There other clever move was removing shortcuts from the desktop,erm no its my desktop i'll put wot i like on it.
SiliconWizard:

--- Quote from: wraper on June 20, 2020, 04:37:26 pm ---
--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on June 20, 2020, 04:26:36 pm ---Speaking of that...
"Microsoft Swiftkey" virtual keyboard got installed on my phone (Android-based) without me having ever actively installed or allowed it... I tried uninstalling it, but the phone says it's part of the system and can't be uninstalled.

--- End quote ---
That's impossible unless phone manufacturer included it in firmware update.

--- End quote ---

Well, as that is obviously possible since it happened, yes it probably came as a "preinstalled" app - for what reason, only the phone manufacturer knows.
I just didn't notice it was installed until it got recently updated (because yeah, any preinstalled third-party app still updates separately from firmware updates) and started to eat battery.

This post confirms it's impossible to uninstall if preinstalled: https://support.swiftkey.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/115003098809-uninstal-swiftkey
(my phone is not a Sony but I guess it's a general statement. I wonder how many phones actually come preinstalled with this, but I suggest anyone to check this out.)

And then why a preinstalled, but non-essential app can't be uninstalled is fricking annoying. It may not be an MS issue per se (but as for MS, I still warn people about this app.)
The fact it was drawing a lot of power with also abnormal data consumption, although I have no proof of what it does, doesn't look good.
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