LGBT News Windows 10 feature may out you to your parents

How to avoid?
My parents asked if I wanted to update and I said no for that reason. (Windows seven here)
I do want an update, only if there is a way to avoid this.

I'm bad with tech so I can't really figure out what a family account is or whatever, so I'll just stick with 7....

Being outed would suck.

 

If our threat model is our parents, then you should use The Amnesic Incognito Live System instead.

 

Honestly, if you have parents that are tech-savy (and invasive control-freaks) enough to set this up, they probably already figured out a way to track your browsing pre-W10.

 

They don't need to be tech savy as this feature is activated by default on family accounts.

Most people when setting up a computer tend to opt for the easy or typical install which will run with the recommended default settings.

When I updated my parents computer to Windows 8.1 and was taking them step by step through the setup wizard, they just opted for the default settings rather that allowing me to tweak the settings for improved security and privacy.

 

It may come activated by default, but that doesn't necessarily mean they have any idea of how to use it or even what's showing them. Trust me, I have computer-illiterate parents (which in my experience are the vast majority of them). Windows could pop an inescapable message notifying them of a vital update or something and what they need to do could be clear as day, but they would still call me to break it down for them and tell 'em what to do, because they either don't get it or they are afraid of fucking something up.

 

...Woah. That's really scary...

...but I'm totally not using my school computer right now and all my teachers can see what I'm on if they went digging for it...

 

I'm still waiting for the day technology reaches the point it tells parents:

"I know your children better than you. I can raise them better than you. You are no longer necessary and must be terminated."

 

Dang windows xp ftw

 

Welp, good thing my computer is my own using my private offline account with all tracking turned off.

I want to switch to linux though...

 

Well, apparently that day is nigh!

---------- Post added 17th Sep 2015 at 12:22 AM ----------

I'm just glad no-one in my family uses Windows. We're all devoted Apple-users.

 

This is very disturbing news. We are an Apple family too, so we are in the clear.

 

^I too come from an apple family.

 

Good thing I still have Windows 8, but then again I'm already out to my parents, including my bastard father.

 

My laptop runs on a local account, lucky for me haha. My parents wont be finding my stuff. Even though they've tried monitoring it before. I always get around it (uber hacking skills [not really])

 

wait wait wait....is your account automatically family one? i mean this is my own computer and im the only user on it but if i upgrade to windows 10 will it tell them anyway?

 

That's pretty creepy.

 

It's good because it can keep children extra safe, however I guess in some ways it breaches the UNCRC Article 16 (right to privacy) and Article 12 of Human Rights.

Overall, I am against it, because if you want to keep children safe, then you should teach them, instead of invade their privacy. Plus your rights are important as well.