this post was submitted on 25 Jun 2024
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According to the latest reports, Windows 11 has made an independent choice by automatically turning on OneDrive folder backup for Desktop, Pictures, Documents, Music, and Video folders without your permission. This signifies that, whether you approve or not, everything is becoming coordinated with the cloud.

This action from Microsoft fits into a larger pattern where big tech companies cleverly (or not so cleverly) promote their services and subscriptions to users. It isn’t only about Microsoft; there have been instances of Google doing something similar with Google Photos and its storage plans.

Keep an eye on your settings, particularly when you have just finished setting up a new device or updating your operating system. Companies such as Microsoft constantly seek methods to link users with their environments—sometimes without permission.

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[–] [email protected] 204 points 4 months ago (1 children)

When you download something without permission, you’re a criminal

When MicroShit does it, it’s a feature

[–] [email protected] 48 points 4 months ago

Well you see, they put it in page 69 of their EULA that got updated last week that they emailed directly to your spam folder. Since you didn't opt out of that clause my sending a registered letter to their offices in Uganda, Japan, Washington, and Ukraine, it is considered that you agreed to the EULA.

[–] [email protected] 121 points 4 months ago (4 children)

Gotta get scrapping all that data to train copilot+++

[–] [email protected] 23 points 4 months ago

This one never really gets old anymore.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago

Vote this up higher. I wouldn't be surprised at all if everything ends up in their models.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

This is probably the only reason microsoft recall exists, as it is completely useless for anything else.

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[–] [email protected] 91 points 4 months ago (5 children)
[–] [email protected] 76 points 4 months ago

Your honour, I asked her if she wanted to have it and she said no. I wasn't sure what that meant so I asked again. And to make things clearer I told her that "yes" and "maybe later" where the only options. She still didn't say yes, but after some time I decided that "later" had come. So I Azure you, I did nothing wrong.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Yes, this. That's essentially the attitude of all of these corporate exec. They know it's wrong and do it anyways.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I'm pretty sure they don't think it's wrong.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Maybe maybe not. But they sure as shit do things they know they wouldn't be able to get away with in any other situation.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

Yeah, that's sadly what a lot of companies do. Push it until people complain, then back off a little for a while and then push further once people are used to the status quo. Rinse and repeat.

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[–] [email protected] 64 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Every new "feature" I hear about in Windows Privacy Invasion Goes to 11, the happier I am that I switched to Linux. It's been mostly smooth and games have just worked. Though I know that much of that is because of Proton.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 4 months ago (10 children)

Funnily, or sadly enough, OneDrive integration is one of the things I miss from my windows days. It's just extremely convenient how it's integrated into explorer and office. And how well the smart/ on-demand sync works. I can't find a setup to replicate this on Linux.

That being said I don't intend to go back and this move is insane.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago (5 children)

If you are willing to self-host, I've found Nextcloud integrates well in Linux. I had been using it before I made the switch and it worked out just fine afterwards. I originally set it up to have a cloud-sync option for my phone, which didn't mean passing everything through Google first. But, it also proved to be a handy way to sync files on my desktop as well.
It just shows up as another folder on my system and Libre Office is happy to work on files from there (with some permissions fiddling due to flatpak).

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[–] [email protected] 47 points 4 months ago (3 children)

...only if you HAVE onedrive account it can reach.

This is a fantastic use case for NOT using a Microsoft account and instead a local account. No Microsoft authenticated account, no Onedrive.

[–] [email protected] 46 points 4 months ago

Good thing they are phasing out local accounts, then.

/s

[–] [email protected] 19 points 4 months ago

until you can no longer log on with just a local Account. or your Data gets backed up for you anyway. Enshittification is one exec decision away

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[–] [email protected] 46 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (1 children)

I wonder about Microsoft's liability on this one. People store all sorts of things in there, some personal, and some corporate things that are at least non-public, if not outright sensitive. Yeah, people should be using an encrypted drive for especially sensitive info (not that this would stop Microsoft when they own the OS), but they don't, and it's not for Microsoft to force the issue.

Did their legal department actually sign off on this? Or did someone in MS legal just shit a brick when they saw the headlines?

[–] [email protected] 43 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Looks like I'm installing Linux tonight.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 4 months ago
[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Yeah. Which one did you go with?!

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago

I finally installed Linux Mint along with Windows 11.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Even on windows 10, Onedrive uploaded random crap you don't want and then yells at you that the space is full and buy a subscription. It has to be the worst cloud service of them all because of the bullshit integration. It was easier to disable and remove it than to work with it.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I have disabled and uninstalled it, but office 365 still enforces it as the default save as location, so now when I use the dialogue, the system hangs for 30 seconds. Even disabled it in the policy management, but no dice.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Apple does it too if you sign in in the Settings. iCloud gets booted up the moment you sign in and everything goes to the iCloud

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Not everything. By default the contents of your desktop and documents folder, both of which are easy to switch off if you want.

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[–] [email protected] 27 points 4 months ago (16 children)

Install Linux already, just get it over with.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 4 months ago (1 children)

"All your base are belong to us"

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago

Remember when Word and Excel Autosave did what you expected it to?

[–] [email protected] 18 points 4 months ago (4 children)

I wonder how this will work with local accounts

[–] [email protected] 46 points 4 months ago

"We've gone ahead and synced all your files to the cloud! Create an account to access them once again.

Enter your email: ______

[ Click here to delay the inevitable ]"

[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago

It just won't work for a local account. This is for those who sign in/up. And those who are forced to sign in/up in the first setup. My hate towards Microsoft and all the companies like it increases every fucking day.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago

Coincidentally, they make it harder to use a local account with every update.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 4 months ago

Not sure there will be any.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 4 months ago

Obligatory just switch to Linux plug

[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Well, I deleted Onedrive a long time ago, so no it won't.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) (3 children)

It will sneak back on. Linux is the only answer.

Windows is the only operating system that is actively working against you these days. Sneaks in shit settings. Renenables disabled settings. Spies on you. Requires convoluted registry ha ks to stop some of the bullshit. And you always gotta be in too of it.

No thanks, not for me.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Last night I updated my BIOS and afterwards my Linux Boot Manager entry was gone. Almost expected but still didn't prepare a LiveUSB, stupid. Had to boot into Windows for the first time in a year and was greeted with the message "Hey some security thing changed, your pin is no longer working. Wanna create a new one?" Of course you need to log in to your Microsoft account for that, otherwise you straight up can't use your install anymore.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Your mistake was using a MS account for your windows install

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 4 months ago

Please backup all this copyrighted material

[–] [email protected] 8 points 4 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 4 months ago

Microsoft is an abusive ex. It will keep abusing you because it knows no other way. You can waste your days trying to fight against it, trying to figure out how to disable and remove whatever new privacy invasive anti-consumer bloat Microsoft decides to roll out that Tuesday.

Or you can leave and switch to Linux and waste time there instead. Tux is all about that respect and is handsome to boot. He might be a bit sensitive and break down rarely so you might need to spare a few to make sure he's ok, but it's nothing a little love can't handle. And he's only going to get better and stronger as he grows. You might even look forward to receiving updates (wow, I know). A stark contrast from your abusive ex.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Not sure why these articles are only coming out now. My work bought me a win11 computer a few months ago and I was surprised to learn that the first few things I downloaded to the desktop showed up on my one drive. I don't really use the account I have on it for much, and it was easy enough to turn off in settings but it was still a shock.

Just another invasion of privacy by a giant corpo that none of its users asked for

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