This means that, if you use Windows 10, a Windows phone, or any other service of Microsoft for that matter, Redmond can disable any games you’ve pirated. This agreement mentioned being able to prevent users from “playing counterfeit games, or using unauthorized hardware peripheral devices“, reports PC World.
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Like the previous releases, this update also improves the functionality of Windows 10. Therefore, the changes made to the license agreement is essentially aimed at protecting the legitimacy of the company’s own service such as Xbox Live and Windows Store content, as opposed to all pirated content on a PC.
As Alphr, the publication that originally brought attention to the statement, put it: “Updated terms let Microsoft invade your Windows 10 computer in search of counterfeit software”.
Windows 10 launched less than a month ago and has been adopted by millions, but privacy advocates are wary of the new Microsoft OS.
Concurrently with this release, Microsoft has also updated its Microsoft Edge Dev site, adding major fixes and new features and a faster, clearer platform roadmap.
Here’s the skinny: a paragraph in Microsoft’s terms and conditions has been found which appears to give the software company the ability to stop people from using things that weren’t legally sourced.
All licence agreements are open to a degree of interpretation, but reading the new agreement shows that Microsoft doesn’t have this all-reaching power. Detecting whether games installed on a system are pirated or not is a complex process, and if the OS was constantly scanning what apps are installed, users would complain about having their privacy invaded.
The Windows 10 Insider program continues.
Windows 10 update does not only cover computers. You can check out Microsoft’s official blog for more details.
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We’ve contacted Microsoft to clarify the issue and will update this article accordingly.
