Last month Microsoft released its newest console, the Xbox One. As part of its basic package the Xbox One includes a separate, yet required, add-on called the Kinect. The Kinect is a combination of a microphone, a camera, and a plethora of other sensors. The Kinect can see in the dark, pick up voice commands, read your heart rate, and recognize your face to sign in. Ostensibly, the Kinect is used to transmit voice commands to the Xbox One in order for quick and easy control of the device, as well as to provide motion control for certain games. Microsoft also encourages users to run their cable box and other video devices through the Xbox One to allow the console to act as the center of their living room. When not in use, the Kinect stays on standby and waits for the “Xbox On” voice command that will reactivate it. While the gaming possibilities for such a device have gamers excited, the many capabilities of the Kinect also has privacy groups worried about Microsoft’s collection of user data.
When the Xbox One was first announced back in May of 2013, the German Federal Data Protection Commissioner, Peter Schaar referred the Kinect as “a twisted nightmare” adding that Microsoft has sold a “monitoring device” rather than a game console. These concerns were echoed in the US, where lack of information on the newly announced device had gaming sites worried that the Kinect could not be shut off and would be nearly impossible to fully control. After the recent NSA leaks that showed Microsoft-owned properties, such as Skype, were providing information to the government, the fact that the Microsoft Kinect would collect a large amount of personal data was worrying.
So should you be worried about Microsoft your distributing your data? Luckily since the initial outcry, Microsoft has taken several steps to reassure users that their data will not be used inappropriately. For example, Microsoft has promised that it will not sell any data to advertisers, and that the Kinect could be fully disabled and even unplugged without worry. Even your facial recognition information (used as an alternate method of logging in) is converted to a string of numbers and stays on the console, rather than being processed by Microsoft. The only information that Microsoft reserves the right to explicitly monitor is voice chatting (although this does not include Skype conversations). Microsoft also recently joined other technology companies in publishing an open letter to the President and the members of Congress calling for surveillance reform. All in all, Microsoft has taken admirable steps to ensure that its users’ privacy.