The first thing this app does is connect to Microsoft servers to download theme files, which for some reason aren't bundled into the binary. If you block it from accessing the internet, it crashes.
I’m really curious about this, not to derail the thread.
I think it should be the standard, but fact is most computer users are entertainment consumers and their computing devices are just a new and improved TV. It doesn't even occur to them to ask what's going on, hence the ubiquity of proprietary spyware. With TUIs and other nerdy stuff like that, the userbase is generally going to give a shit more, hence the higher standard.