pencer.ioJan 4, 2023
Kevin Beaumont

If you’re outraged about Adobe sending your pictures off their servers (you should be), please know other vendors do this too. That horse has already bolted.

Eg Microsoft Edge automatically sends your key presses in Edge to MS - enabled by default https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/discussions/how-to-disable-writing-assistance-via-group-policy/td-p/3648422

Microsoft Office 365 sends every photo and screenshot you add in Word, PowerPoint etc (including in emails) to Microsoft 365 Intelligent Services without prompt https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/everything-you-need-to-know-to-write-effective-alt-text-df98f884-ca3d-456c-807b-1a1fa82f5dc2

How to disable writing assistance via Group Policy

Hello,   new Edge version 106 has got settings "Use writing assistance". I look for matching settings in group policy for Edge but with not succes. I use the latest adml and admx files.  Group setting Disable spellcheck will help but only for Edge 104 (and lower). Edge 106 has replaced settings Spel...

TECHCOMMUNITY.MICROSOFT.COM
Jan 4, 2023 at 6:26pmWeb
Show threadXerz 💗Jan 4, 2023
@GossiTheDog sadly I think the outrage is completely centered on AI art hate and not tracking overall, but I appreciate the efforts 
Show threadEddie McCabeJan 4, 2023
@GossiTheDog how does this play in if you store things only locally? I mostly keep my photos on my local drives so that any crash is on me, but I do have a portfolio page with Adobe. Would also be an interesting question given that some of them are registered with Alamy for copyright. That would be an interesting lawsuit.
Show threadBrittle Anxious Nonlinear IncoJan 4, 2023
@GossiTheDog computers were a mistake
Show threadSijmenJan 4, 2023

@GossiTheDog The post does mention "In Microsoft Edge, the Microsoft Editor suite is not available by default. Instead, users must install it to the browser.", so it does not happen by default, only after you install the add-on

EDIT: The news article is outdated, it is included by default now, see GossiTheDog's response below

Show threadJohnathan NormanJan 4, 2023
@GossiTheDog for those who want to disable this go to edge://settings/languages and under "Use Writing Assistance" switch to basic mode
Show threadalcinnzJan 4, 2023

@GossiTheDog In freesoftware meanwhile, any such tracking gets quickly noticed & treated as a scandal.

Many/most (myself included!) of us take a moral stance against this, and most of the rest (if you're not e.g. Canonical) don't want to risk the reputational damage.

Also, it's cheaper not to! We operate on shoestring budgets! ;-)

Show threadsilverwizardJan 5, 2023
@alcinnz @GossiTheDog It was a scandal in Windows too, they just didn't change it and 10 years later everyone forgot, or, like me, has refused to touch Microsoft again
Show threadPaul WhitehurstJan 4, 2023
@GossiTheDog The edge article doesn't say the key presses are sent by default, you have to install the Microsoft Editor suite:
"In Microsoft Edge, the Microsoft Editor suite is not available by default. Instead, users must install it to the browser."
For MS365, the user has to enable automatic alt text for the data to be sent AND the data is already being sent to MS because MS365 is an online services.
I don't see how these issues are really the same as the Adobe issue.
Show threadDerek McEachernJan 4, 2023

@GossiTheDog Out of curiosity I looked at the Amazon Photos TOS and I don't see any wording that indicates they will use your images for AI training. However, there seems to be a big hole in section "3.3 Our Use of Your Files" that states the following

"These permissions include, for example, the rights to copy Your Files,"

The comma at the end of the phrase makes me pause and think ok, copy where and for what purpose? The other exceptions give details why they want to access your files but this one feels really open ended.

Show threadEric LawtonJan 4, 2023

@GossiTheDog No wonder it screamed at me as the only use I have made of it on my new computer was to download Firefox.

"No! You don't need that! Use me!"

Not exact words, but close enough.

I haven't used MS Office for 7 years. Scrivener for longform writing. LibreOffice for the rest.

Show threadParanoid FactoidJan 4, 2023

@GossiTheDog

I run Linux.

Problem solved.

Show threadCJ🌪️Jan 4, 2023
@GossiTheDog what photos are people storing with adobe? Project files when working in the cloud? Kinda glad I'm too poor for adobe either way.
Show threadOwen 🇦🇺🦘Jan 4, 2023

@IllPayToDiffer @GossiTheDog

They constantly 'encourage' (badger) users to store them in the cloud so you can use their editing software on your phone and other devices.
Yeah, right.

Show threadCJ🌪️Jan 4, 2023
@owen3d @GossiTheDog I feel like this could end in a lawsuit. There's a reasonable expectation of privacy even when storing your data with a company. The company should not be the one to compromise your data by having it unencrypted or outside of their control. You would rightfully expect your data to be secure and within your control when stored in your account for the duration of its life. In this day and age that's not unreasonable.
Show threadOwen 🇦🇺🦘Jan 4, 2023

@IllPayToDiffer @GossiTheDog
You're probably right.

I don't recall them mentioning such usage terms when they started badgering me (via their Creative Cloud app).

I've always declined and now been able to disable that annoyance now anyway. Very poor form.

Show threadCJ🌪️Jan 4, 2023
@owen3d @GossiTheDog I mean the very fact they urge you to store your data in the cloud carries with it a measure of confidence that they will ensure that it's secure. If this lead to the loss of or exposure of your data I think it'd be hard to argue that they're not liable for what happened.
Show threadDaniel ReedersJan 4, 2023
@GossiTheDog God I am tired of whataboutery.
Show threadalcinnzJan 4, 2023

@engagedpractx @GossiTheDog Doesn't feel like whataboutery to me. It feels like it is coming from a group who have long been warning about these harms, only now with Adobe is it starting to be taken seriously, and we offer alternatives to all of this.

Or maybe that's because I'm from that group too.

Show threadDaniel ReedersJan 4, 2023

@alcinnz @GossiTheDog 'That horse has already bolted' = smug, 'we knew it first, you're late to the party.'

It's an absolute classic in the genre of 'tech guys failing to communicate about what they care about with the general public.'

Show threadalcinnzJan 4, 2023

@engagedpractx @GossiTheDog Fair enough, and there is a metaphorical horse I'm striving to get back in its stable!

It can be frustrating not being taken seriously for so long, but yeah best to avoid any phrase suggesting you're "late to the party"!

Show threadJules 🍺Jan 4, 2023
@GossiTheDog so glad I moved to Linux, Firefox and libreoffice
Show threadottonafo 🇺🇦Jan 4, 2023
@peterfr tadaa! 🥳
Show thread🆘Bill Cole 🇺🇦Jan 4, 2023

@GossiTheDog

It is a rare week that I don't see yet another reason to retain my "No MS, No Adobe, No Symantec" policy…

Show threadAllieJan 4, 2023
@GossiTheDog I gotta make sure I use the FOSS VS code forks
Show threadHarrJan 5, 2023
@GossiTheDog Please use Libre Office it is has almost all the features of MS office
Show threadJörg Jan 5, 2023
@GossiTheDog Wow, didn't know that, thanks for your toot!
Maybe I should seriously think about switching my office program at home back to Libreoffice - and switching to Linux.
Unfortunately I have to stick with MS 365 at office (and yes, they plan to upgrade to Win 11!)
Show threadjr is reading 🐸Jan 5, 2023

@GossiTheDog

Does the OS in general do that or just MS products?

Show threadRupert ReynoldsJan 5, 2023

@GossiTheDog There used to be "If you're not paying for the product, you are the product".

Slowly at first, it got shortened to "You are the product".

Big jobs such as Google, MS, Amazon are best placed to sell you, arguably, but almost any commercial outfit will be tempted.

And if it can leak, it will.

Show threadRami Al-KabraJan 5, 2023
@GossiTheDog Yikes 😬
Show threadAustin GodberJan 5, 2023
@GossiTheDog this was always my fear with VScode … somehow giving implicit license to MS for everything I write.
Show threadCaddiJan 5, 2023
@GossiTheDog I really need to disable this.
Show threadMicahJan 5, 2023

@GossiTheDog google chrome also has this as an option. Can’t believe in 2022 keylogging (the mother of all hacks) is standard in browsers.

Fwiw chromium (open source) doesn’t have it.

Show threadChar has movedJan 5, 2023

@GossiTheDog

Years ago I tested the “free” Outlook mobile app. The logs on my private (dovecot based) IMAP server clearly show Microsoft proxying the connection to their infrastructure without stating anywhere that they do this, assuming to scan email for profiling purposes.

#privacy

Show threadVikram JamwalJan 5, 2023

@GossiTheDog

Now I am 3x outraged...😠

Show threadder.hansJan 5, 2023

@GossiTheDog Nextcloud, Krita, Inkscape, GIMP, etc do not exfiltrate your art

How's Firefox doing on that front nowadays? I think it's still good

Show threaddoriansJan 5, 2023
@GossiTheDog does Google do this in their Office apps? I’m guessing yes.
Show threadiar81bJan 5, 2023

@GossiTheDog If you want to opt out of the surveillance capitalism model, at least with regards to software, there are options.

There are plenty of open source, selhosted solutions. They may not be as polished and covininet as corporate apps. It is up to you to decide where the balance between convinience and privacy lies.

Show threadMeow.tar.gz  Jan 5, 2023
@GossiTheDog If anything at all, you've provided more proof as to why people need to use #opensource software and get away from proprietary shit.
Show threadJ🍩hn FünkJan 5, 2023

@ablackcatstail @GossiTheDog So much this. I totally get that going completely FOSS isn't viable for all use cases, but those who are able should go as FOSS as they can, even if they're not open source dorks like us.

LibreOffice lacks a lot of features MS Office users have become accustomed to, and yeah, that's an issue. But it's quite viable as a daily driver office suite for most people, most of the time.

Show threadMeow.tar.gz  Jan 5, 2023
@probablyjohnfunk @GossiTheDog I use Libre at home. I have to have Windows VM at home but it's simply for days when I work from home. My daily driver for a desktop is Ubuntu. All my home servers and router are all powered by OpenBSD.
Show threadDrJekyllJan 5, 2023
@GossiTheDog More and more, the solution seems to be
1. Don't use Google or MS products
2. Self host (especially if you can get gig up on your connection)
3. Make peace with the fact that any photo sharing / editing suite that online will use your content (I'm quite sure google photos has language that allows them to use photos)
Show threadPeter Garwood www.bbbrclub.orgJan 6, 2023
@GossiTheDog That is why I always look at a pdf of how to make a nuclear bomb each night before signing off........
Show threadcyber.philosohackJan 6, 2023
@GossiTheDog on the plus side it says the content is only looked at by a magic machine, stored in a secure location and deleted after, honest 👀 so we good
Show thread0815Jan 6, 2023
@GossiTheDog Interesting. Can someone post a screenshot of the Microsoft 365 Intelligent Service setting in e.g. Word? I cannot find any. When using the alt-text option on an pasted image I see a button to automatically generate the alt-text. I used OfficeApps Business Standard.
Show threadpinkprius [en]Jan 7, 2023
@GossiTheDog what the fuck is this??
Show threadReal Estate TimesJan 7, 2023
Could School / health Apps sends student / patient data to book sellers, edu shops, spy & govt agencies, hospitals, pharma companies etc.. and more... https://wisepoint.org/1177
Show threadMarcin KoziejJan 7, 2023
@GossiTheDog sad 🕯️for the proprietary software users
Show threadAndrei KucharavyJan 9, 2023
@GossiTheDog how about non-365 offices?