Comment by JoshMnem | Hacker News Reader

Comment by JoshMnem | Hacker News Reader

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They watch what companies like Google get away with to see how far they can push things.

> Activity history helps keep track of the things you do on your device, such as the apps and services you use, the files you open, and the websites you browse. Your activity history is stored locally on your device when using different apps and features such as Microsoft Edge, some Microsoft Store apps, and Office apps.

> If you've signed in to your device with a Microsoft account and given your permission, Windows sends your activity history to Microsoft. Once your activity history is in the cloud, Microsoft uses that data to enable cross-device experiences, to provide you with the ability to continue those activities on other devices, to provide personalized experiences (such as ordering your activities based on duration of use) and relevant suggestions (such as anticipating what your needs might be based on your activity history), and to help improve Microsoft products.

https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement

> In some cases, your ability to access or control your personal data will be limited, as required or permitted by applicable law. How you can access or control your personal data will also depend on which products you use.

> Not all personal data processed by Microsoft can be accessed or controlled via the tools above. If you want to access or control personal data processed by Microsoft that is not available via the tools above or directly through the Microsoft products you use, you can always contact Microsoft at the address in the How to contact us section or by using our web form.

Same source.

It isn't a trustworthy company. I uninstalled VS Code and am going to start recommending Spacemacs, Sublime Text, Doom Emacs, Vim, or anything else. That page is also VS Code's privacy statement.

Linked here:

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/supporting/FAQ

https://github.com/VSCodium/vscodium/ is being actively kept up-to-date with VSCode's rolling releases and takes care to remove "the corporate/privacy nasties" while still retaining the (rather useful) extensions marketplace. Not a fork or port, just a "filtered build" (or build script if you want to diy). Worked without hiccups for me for over a year now (Linux). Updates come in a few days to a week after the original.

How is anything you quoted a problem? Activity history being synced to your Microsoft account is an entirely opt-in feature. It's designed to assist in the scenario of "I moved from my desktop to my laptop and want to open that file I was working on a few days ago....now what did I name it and where did I put it?"

That feature could easily be opt-in, without any dark patterns. If people want it, they could check a box.

Data shouldn't leave my devices unless I opt-in on a very specific case-by-case basis.

Giving personal data (like browsing history, identifying information, etc.) should not be a requirement for using technology, which has become a fundamental aspect of participating in society.

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