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- New findings reveal that Microsoft is watching users play games on PCs and sending data back to train its Gaming Copilot.
- In late September, Windows 11 PC users received the Gaming Copilot app to provide help during gameplay.
- It screenshots everything in games and sends the data back to train AI models. This option is turned on by default.
Microsoft’s interest in AI has been evident for some time, with the company actively working on various initiatives for its Xbox brand and PC gaming experience. It is already being used in the development of the upcoming Halo games, for example.
New findings suggest that Microsoft’s recently introduced Gaming Copilot, introduced in September for Windows 11 PCs, actively observes our gameplay and sends the data back to train its AI models. The worst part is that everyone is enrolled in this option by default.
Why it matters: This decision from Microsoft appears to infringe heavily on the privacy of everyday gamers.
Some users on gaming forums claimed that their network traffic indicated data was being sent back to Microsoft. This data sharing even included a game under NDA that a user had been playing, which raises some extreme privacy concerns.
A user explained that Gaming Copilot captures screenshots and records texts in games using OCR before sending the data back to Microsoft for AI model training. This is possible because the ‘Model training on text’ option is automatically turned on in Gaming Copilot’s settings.
We at Tech4Gamers also found this setting to be toggled on by default. You can opt out by pressing ‘Windows+G’ to open Game Bar, navigating to Gaming Copilot, and toggling it off in privacy settings.
Users are furious at Microsoft for calling the setting a vague name and argue that it should be more descriptive and turned off by default. The other, “Model training on voice,” option is fortunately off by default.
Do you think the new Gaming Copilot sharing your gameplay data by default to train its AI models is ethical? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or join the discussion on the Tech4Gamers forum.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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