Microsoft responds to Xbox One Kinect privacy concerns
Microsoft has responded to privacy concerns over the Xbox One Kinect, saying it will have strong privacy protections and that users can turn the system off entirely.
The stage demo showed the Kinect being used to wake the console from sleep at a moment's notice, which would mean it's always listening for such commands. That raised privacy concerns, and Microsoft has responded assuring robust privacy settings and the ability to turn the system off entirely.
"We are designing the new Kinect with simple, easy methods to customize privacy settings, provide clear notifications and meaningful privacy choices for how data will be used, stored and shared," a Microsoft representative told Kotaku.
"We know our customers want and expect strong privacy protections to be built into our products, devices and services, and for companies to be responsible stewards of their data. Microsoft has more than 10 years of experience making privacy a top priority. Kinect for Xbox 360 was designed and built with strong privacy protections in place and the new Kinect will continue this commitment. We'll share more details later."
The rep also claimed the Kinect "is not always watching or always listening," and said that you can turn the system completely off. Presumably he means without unplugging it.
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replySteve Watts posted a new article, Microsoft responds to Xbox One Kinect privacy concerns.
Microsoft has responded to privacy concerns over the Xbox One Kinect, saying it will have strong privacy protections and that users can turn the system off entirely.-
This is the realization of something sci-fi has bantered with for a while. Or, this is just the beginning of larger privacy concerns. Think about Star Trek and the Enterprise's computer always listening for commands. Same thing. Since that's where we're headed towards, we kinda have to find a solution now. Either a method to secure such processes, and/or social acceptance of what we're willing to allow.
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I think in ten years when the old people die off no one will care if a robot is listening in. There are cameras everywhere already, your phone conversations go over air waves, and little robots are watching your every move when you surf the internet or read your e-mail.
Welcome to 2013, and no one cares because at worst, they just want to sell you shit. That is unless you are actually concerned someone's going to find out about your meth lab or plans to overthrow the government, then yes, those people will really have to debate having a kinect in the room.-
Jeez, the "I have nothing to hide" argument. People like you are the reason why the Patriot Act still exists.
The government has been caught spying on the anti-war movement, socialists, libertarians, and all sorts of other activist groups in our country. The kinect could simply be another tool in their arsenal.-
For me its not that i have nothing to hide, its just that I'm not that interesting.
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The point I made in my post is that people can be targeted. I'm not saying the Xbone can/will be used in this way. I'm just saying the potential is there, and fuck Big Brother.
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You can choose not to bring a Kinect into your home though. You can't choose if the Patriot Act exists or not.
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I think kinnect could really reach it's highest potential with a siri like personality. Someone to watch my every move, comment on my weight, and beat me in chess. Bonus points if it comes with a game based on the scene in 2001 where Dave dismantles Hal.
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They had that chance with Microsoft Bob and Clippy.
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No, Microsoft's blurted answers to tough questions were vague and unprepared, and when you get government agencies asking questions, it indicates a PR failure. Yesterday's Bombcast deconstructs it rather nicely.
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This is most likely a response to government agencies in Germany and Australia voicing privacy concerns and/or highlighting that Kinect is classified as a surveillance device in Australia. http://gamepolitics.com/2013/05/28/german-commissioner-expresses-concern-over-xbox-ones-always-kinect
This statement was most likely not motivated by consumer outrage. They just want to play nice with governments that care about citizen privacy. -
No details except "We are designing the new Kinect with simple, easy methods to customize privacy settings, provide clear notifications and meaningful privacy choices for how data will be used, stored and shared."
Oh: "We'll share more details later"
'kay-
"10 years of experience making privacy a top priority"; yeah, how about all those hacked Live accounts in 2011 with FIFA Ultimate Team fraudulent purchases? I don't know why Toulouse left, but I imagine part of it was because he was sitting in the hot seat during a huge controversy and breach of trust.
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Well, you can't exactly use the specter of hacker attacks to argue in favor of Sony and the PS4 instead, can you? lol.
Anything could be hacked. It's the risk we take unless we want to try and live without the internet.
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I haven't, my sister did. I don't have one connected to my 360.
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You should have written that without punctuation.
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At least on this issue, I think there's less concern because Sony isn't pushing the Eye like MS is the Kinect, so the assumption (perhaps wrongly) is that it will not be a requirement.
Heck, Sony could say at E3 that it won't be required and I still wouldn't be too sure. They've pulled fast ones before (Other OS). -
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Shuhei Yoshida gave absolute statenents to Eurogamer. Yes to offline play, yes to used games. While it's not detailed, it's far less vague than the waffling from Mattrick and Harrison, and if Sony changes their mind between now, E3, and launch, then we can say, "But Yoshida-san said to Eurogamer...".
Accountability. Sony's PS4 team has it right now, and Microsoft's XBox team doesn't.-
they were just as vague. waht does "offline play" mean? when MS says it everyone is suspicious and it turns out they mean, "yeah, you can play offline after authenticating". sony is being smartly silent on details and letting microsoft take the PR hit. i have no doubt they either want to do, or are doing, many of the things the xbox one is.
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"Playstation 4 can still be enjoyed old school without an Internet connection at all"
http://www.officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk/2013/03/20/michael-denny/
That doesn't seem particularly vague to me
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"You guys sure do love to hate on MS."
They were riding pretty high a few years ago, before Kinect. Their cock-ups are all on them though. How do you figure the gaming community is at fault here? lol.-
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It's not just the message boards, it's the press as well. And they deserve it, it was a terrible reveal of a gaming console and the new ideas they presented are boring for anyone but investors and people who can't work a television remote. They were overly vague and focused on their long standing plan of taking over the living room, a marketing play which no one wants. Last cycle Sony got shit on for their ego, telling people to get a second job to buy a game console and making it difficult to develop for to push their own agenda, now MS is doing much the same to similar results. We have been able to share our games with friends and sell them or buy them used for as long as there have been consoles, now they are taking that away. Why shouldn't any gamer be upset about that? How is this in any way good for us?
At the end of the day the Xbone will be a fine console, but they've certainly killed some of the momentum they had after last gen, and for good reason.-
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Of course, but i dont think people are discussing how they will feel in 3 or 4 months time, they're discussing their responses right now.
Both companies have had plenty of time and opportunity to set the scene and get us excited.
As the guys on giantbomb said today, regardless of whether its fair or not, the way MS have handled this whole debacle basically means they have to have a 10 out of 10 presence at e3 or this tide of internet bullshit will just grow.-
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I like that you're keeping it fresh
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How else would you describe your PR people being unable to answer simple and obvious questions with the same answers?
Anyone who wasn't on the back foot would have been totally prepared and known exactly what the press were going to ask. Hell, for 3 months now people have been speculating about this stuff and the negative press, unfounded or not was building.
All they had to do was come out and set the record straight and they completely failed to do that in a concise manner. Did sony address everything completely? No, in fact in a lot of respects they've said even less, but due to the way they handled it, the internet along with most of the gaming media isn't raging right now.
I recommend listening to their discussion about it on today's Giantbomb podcast. They go in to a lot of detail from a pretty informed perspective about how the whole thing has been a bit of a shambles.
You need to stop getting so outraged by these discussions.-
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Well then you're fundamentally missing the point. They didnt just give half answers, they gave several different answers to the same question.
If you ask a bunch of salesman all the same questions and get different and confused answers from each one, how reassuring is that?
If you ask a bunch of salesman and they all say "We'll be sharing our plans regarding that point later" then even if it doesn't leave you informed, you at least get the feeling they've been briefed and know what the fuck is going on.-
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Uhm... that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Well done.
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Seems like a similar amount of interest for both here:
http://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=29720721#item_29720721
http://www.shacknews.com/chatty?id=30198193#item_30198193
But of course, a lot of the frustration in the xbox thread is obviously just people expressing their disinterest in the ps4.
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Also they made clear a lot of this is just huff and puff right now. It will be all forgotten 12 months from now. But thats not what we're talking about. We're talking about whether they've managed their unveiling in a clumsy way, which nearly everybody agrees they have.
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$500? i've heard it was $1,500 and live was $29.99/month plus the camera makes fun of your posture and what you are snacking on.
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For a lot of people, going by MS's efforts for exclusives in the last few years, saying "15 new games" isn't enough to get people excited anymore. We need to see shit. Sure we'll see it at E3, but dont expect us to give a shit until then.
Going by recent history a good number of those 15 titles will be wavey hand kinnect dancing mini game collections.
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The big thread are always like that whether its Ms, sony, or apple events. Its more about the excitement and sillyness of the events.
That said, they've mishandled every aspect of this unveiling so far.
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Disliking a company's plans doesn't really fall under "acting like ass hats." The rudeness might be way up there right now, but it's sort of ubiquitous in talking about absolutely anything online anyway.
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Well the console market gets big profits and growth ever year. They have no cause to mess with things.
The situations are really totally different.
Steam on the other hand gave the PC market a bit of a center and guide, something it always needed. Even if people didn't like it at first (let's not forget that sales were not a day one thing) it emerged as something more important than just a company, but a way to unify a digital platform.
And let's not forget MS had first crack at creating that very thing on the PC! And couldn't come close.
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I don't think any rational individual thinks MS is actively trying to fuck over their customers. But it is possible that their aims might not be in line with their customers' own interests. Maybe they are, but I think it's okay to force them to address it. If people aren't vocal about it then they may not feel a need to.
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I think this quote from Patrick Klepek in last night's Bombcast says it best:
"I sympathize with their frustration when they're not getting clear benefits for things that publishers claim that they WANT and NEED in order to support business models that THEY created, and can no longer sustain!
[to developers: ] "Am I sorry that you decided to make AAA cinematic games aping Hollywood franchises, those got more expensive, and now you can't support those based on the fact that more consumer money is going to other mediums and to other devices? I'm SORRY?! YOU BUILT THAT! That's not my fault! And I just get really upset being BLAMED, even though I've been around supporting this industry for decades, for business models that THEY came up with."
There are a number of disconnects of rationality between the video games industry and other more mature media industries (which had their own problems, especially the music recording industry between the late 90's to late 2000's). Probably the biggest, highlighted by Patrick, is that the classical gaming industry figureheads (i.e.: platform holders and megapublishers) are gushing with pride and confidence that they know what they're doing and how to run a business, when in fact they are very out of touch and ham-fisted in their approaches. Sony's PS4 presentation was a notable exception, for the most part, since they recognized consumer complaints about the PS3, addressed them, and had a plan for burning questions. And yes, they went first, and catered to their devoted fan base.
One thing I didn't think about today: why is Microsoft treating GameStop more courteously than the gamers? If the platform holders and publishers were so wound up about lost revenue from used game sales from one corporate entity, shouldn't they have sued, or at least played hardball with fees? Microsoft, through their own licensing audit organization, already demands audits for per-seat licensing for OSes; why can't they demand one company to perform a per-sale surcharge for used game sales on XBox 360 games?-
Yeah, just because it's in these companies' best interests to attract customers doesn't mean they will always have your interests at heart. Their primary interest is making swimming pools of money and while that usually aligns with making the customer happy, it doesn't necessarily. Ham-fisted DRM is an example of that.
As an aside, I just listened to the Bombcast and it's funny that a lot of the concerns those guys were unanimously stating fall in line with what people are getting called paranoid, clueless idiots for saying here.
Guess we're all watching the wrong gaming cast.
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Seriously, gamers are the worst. I like to socialize with people who share my hobby, but as a demographic, we are an embarrassment to mankind.
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Are you fucking FOR REAL? This is shacknews brother, people love to hate on Sony, people love to fellate MS. This has been an MS focused forum for a long long time. For several years there was about only 2 or 3 pro-PS3 regulars here.
Shacknews = mostly Americans, Shacknews = a high % of ex PC gamers or at least PC and console gamers. The 360 seriously caters to those guys. This site does not, in any way, ever "love to hate" on Xbox products.
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Um, what exactly is the point of bundling a new Kinect with every system if developers have to allow for people storing them in in their closet because they're afraid it's going to spy on them?
If it's just a optional add-on, they would be selling it optionally, like the current Kinect. They wouldn't be bundling it unless it was integral to their design of the system, in which case, duh, of course it has to be plugged in.
There'd be zero sense in them manufacturing and sending out a Kinect with every system if you could just leave it in the box. This is so obvious.
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That's called a PC. This is a console.
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its interesting though, people do lots of illegal things on the internet, and its tracked but noone really cares (generally). but a device that watches what you do while you play a game or movie, I got to say it's a little weird.
I actually feel violated and I'm not sure why. I guess it feels more anonymous on the internet because noone can really claim it was me, but with the kinect, even though I'm sure MS will claim the data they track is just the joints and crap, there's still that feeling it could be capturing MY FACE and pin me as the guy who is jerking off to final fantasy 15.-
Its funny because I can imagine a lot of people reacting to the kinnect really positively if its explained to them in the right way.
"Its cool because it can understand you, you just have to say Xbox On! or Xbox TV and its done" People will think thats cool and thats that.
But if you were to go further and explain "but of course for that to work it has to be listening to everything you're doing in your front room all of the time" then that will just freak people out.
Its certainly something MS will have to handle with a lot of tact to avoid the media putting a paranoia spin on it, because you know they will try. -
agreed
*uses google products and software*
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also to add to that, I'm sure its rock solid security-wise and everything, but hackers will hack and if I want to pull my pants down in front of the tv I dont want to have to worry about it being broadcasted on the internet
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this kind of fear would seem more well founded if we hadn't had years of XBL + Kinect usage from a company who takes security as seriously as anyone. The PS4 Eye will do many of the same things but on a network that has actually been compromised and whose owner demonstrated some pretty poor overall security focus.
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People seem to forget that they've ALREADY put 24 million units of their current Kinect into people's homes and nothing remotely like any of the fears in this thread has happened. The world did not end.
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If you think Glenn`s story is super..., 4 weeks ago my sisters mom in law got paid $6211 just sitting there eighteen hours a week from home and the're best friend's sister`s neighbour has been doing this for six months and earnt over $6211 part time from a mac. follow the advice here.. Bow6.com
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THE ROBOTS ARE INVADING!
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If you are paranoid about Kinect. Please proceed to through your Iphone or android in the garbage. They are equipped with a camera, mic, always online, and a gps.
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throw*
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