As part of a series of blog posts it published today, Microsoft greatly clarified the interaction between Xbox One users and the included Kinect camera, and the extent to which the Kinect can be disabled -- and what it does with the data it senses.
The camera -- which will be required for the Xbox One to function, according to Microsoft -- can be disabled, the company has now stated.
"If you don’t want the Kinect sensor on while playing games or enjoying your entertainment, you can pause Kinect," the blog post explains. To operate the console, instead of Kinect, "you can use a controller, your remote controls or your smart devices instead. And you can use all of these devices when Kinect is paused."
More importantly, according to the company, when the Xbox One is powered down, the Kinect is "only listening for the single voice command -- 'Xbox On,' and you can even turn that feature off too."
Most importantly, writes the company, "When Xbox One is on and you’re simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded." Any data that applications monitor via Kinect -- such as visual or biometric data -- "will not leave your Xbox One without your explicit permission," Microsoft now says.
Upon initial configuration of the Xbox One system, the blog post says, "The system will navigate you through key privacy options, like automatic or manual sign in, privacy settings, and clear notifications about how data is used."
In other words: you can tell the system to disable the Kinect for all purposes except games that require it for input, according to the blog post.
This still sounds like I can disable it, but can't physically disconnect it. Why that?
I kind of trust Microsoft to be somewhat sensible about my data, but even more I trust hackers to find exploits for a Microsoft product, and I believe there is enough interest from all sort of sides for the kind of data the Kinect can get from your everyday life.
And it's been known that the various agencies are all about extracting information from game consoles where they can. (e.g. http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2012/04/game-console-hack/)
Do you really expect them not to keep up with the times?
The always-on-Kinect does have some similarities with the TVs from George Orwell's 1984.
So there is a certain chance that NSA will ask Microsoft for a "favour". I am even more worried about Chinese citizens.
But I never said I trusted any government, I just said I kinda trust Microsoft (and they honestly can't do much about the NSA or the KGB or the Chinese police).
sounds like PR double speak to me. If I cant
a) buy an xbone without a kinect
or
b) have the ability to simply disconnect the kinect and toss it in the freakin closet, and then enjoy my games and movies etc without worrying about a spy eye,
then
c) I wont buy this piece of hardware nor recommend anyone in my family or friends do so either.
Interesting phrasing there. You "Pause" the Kinect rather than stop or disconnect it. Given how much closer to PCs consoles are becoming, and how frequent it is for hackers to gain control of devices connected to the internet, this causes me some level of concern.
"will not leave your Xbox One without your explicit permission,"
Explicit permission that, I guess, will be burried among pages and pages of user agreement contract that no one reads anyway?
Careful readers will note that there is nothing stated here that prevents Microsoft from uploading and storing pictures and video of you and your family for their own purposes. You can forbid XBox "applications" from uploading that data, but you cannot forbid the XBox OS (Microsoft) from doing so itself.
EDIT: Or maybe not. This statement: "When Xbox One is on and you’re simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded." needs further clarification. I hope some journalist decides to actually do a follow-up this time instead of just taking the PR at face value.
Specifically, this question needs to be asked and answered with no ambiguity: Can I prevent Microsoft from *ever* uploading or storing any picture, video, or voice data taken by Kinect, if I so choose?
Given today's disclosure about just how much Microsoft lets the NSA spy on its users (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/us-tech-giants-nsa-data) I think there's good reason to be very concerned about how the Kinect will play into these surveillance capabilities.
Exactly my thoughts as well. This is eerily close to 1984. We have no way of knowing that the kinect is entirely off either. Or even that it cannot be controlled remotely. Add that Microsoft apparently were the first company to willingly flush our integrity down the toilet.
It's required, but can be disabled. Huh?
Given Microsoft's blatant push to remove privacy, I'm not sure I can trust them not to change the way it all works in a future 'update.'
It's still PS4 or PC for me. No XBone.
I kind of trust Microsoft to be somewhat sensible about my data, but even more I trust hackers to find exploits for a Microsoft product, and I believe there is enough interest from all sort of sides for the kind of data the Kinect can get from your everyday life.
Do you really expect them not to keep up with the times?
So there is a certain chance that NSA will ask Microsoft for a "favour". I am even more worried about Chinese citizens.
But I never said I trusted any government, I just said I kinda trust Microsoft (and they honestly can't do much about the NSA or the KGB or the Chinese police).
I'm not even sure I would call PRISM a backdoor. It's more of a "Come on in, guys! Take whatever you like!" door
a) buy an xbone without a kinect
or
b) have the ability to simply disconnect the kinect and toss it in the freakin closet, and then enjoy my games and movies etc without worrying about a spy eye,
then
c) I wont buy this piece of hardware nor recommend anyone in my family or friends do so either.
pretty simple really
Explicit permission that, I guess, will be burried among pages and pages of user agreement contract that no one reads anyway?
Hal, "I can't let you do that Dave."
EDIT: Or maybe not. This statement: "When Xbox One is on and you’re simply having a conversation in your living room, your conversation is not being recorded or uploaded." needs further clarification. I hope some journalist decides to actually do a follow-up this time instead of just taking the PR at face value.
Specifically, this question needs to be asked and answered with no ambiguity: Can I prevent Microsoft from *ever* uploading or storing any picture, video, or voice data taken by Kinect, if I so choose?