>>Neither did I. But I did see many people complain that Microsoft does, yet never complained that Google does. THAT is my point.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

Plus you used to (correctly) observe that MS's data policies were less intrusive than Google's. It appears this is no longer true.

FWIW, I had refused to install Uber on my phone because of the intrusive data access it demands- access to my contacts list, really? - but installed it at midnight in Beverly Hills last Thursday and paid $13 for a trip that would have cost $40 in a taxi. Yes, I sold my privacy for $27. But I CHOSE to do it. Whereas if I have a business relying on what used to be *the* business OS and now suddenly it wants to mine my data without asking- I perceive little choice in the matter.

I did make the choice to stay on Windows 7 and backed out the patch that added the "Upgrade to Windows 10" icon permanently in my task bar, but I see it is back via another patch that has nothing to do with blocking malware and everything to do with steering me in an ordained direction. Not that it matters- rumour is that Windows 7 patches also will open up my stuff for snooping. And FWIW, it seems disingenuous to portray these patches as bug fixes and malware blocks when they're nothing of the sort.