They sell it for money. You will never hear about it. It may pass through a single person's hands. Remember the article on here that told about how all major cell providers are selling your location data through a two man mob-like operation?
"In order to provide this computing experience, we collect data about you, your device, and the way you use Windows. "
"We also share data with Microsoft-controlled affiliates and subsidiaries; with vendors working on our behalf; when required by law or to respond to legal process; to protect our customers; "
Obviously when they sell to data broker, they call them a vendor.
The thing is, when you're talking about an operating system with access to everything you do on your own equipment, it doesn't necessarily matter what they do with the data. The fact that any data is uploaded involuntarily is already a big problem.
I've been a Windows desktop user for most of my professional life, because in most fields, that's where you'd find the best quality and range of software and the best hardware support. But since the shift to 10, and the attempted abuse of 7 upwards via updates, I've become very cautious about Microsoft and its user-hostile actions. In my own businesses, we run many different platforms now and each computer or device we buy is configured individually according to the needs of its user. The major exception is Windows 10, which we don't use at all as a primary desktop OS. How can you ever trust a system that will update itself against your will and upload your data against your will, run by a business that is apparently building its whole strategy around continuing to do those things and overpowering any user resistance?
What amazes me is that lawyers and compliance officers working in smaller businesses aren't blowing the roof off over this stuff, which seems to all but guarantee that you can't comply with privacy regulations like the GDPR or typical corporate non-disclosure agreements. It seems that several European privacy regulators do have similar concerns and may be investigating various aspects of modern Microsoft systems. Is this just a case of everyone keeping their head down and hoping for the best because they don't see any better options than continuing to use Windows anyway?
Error reporting and usage telemetry, same as many apps and websites.
Ever notice how, for all the furor about Windows telemetry, nobody is ever able to explain how that data is being abused or point out anything specifically that's problematic? That's because the people who keep bringing it up haven't been able to find any (yet, of course) despite proclaiming loudly how terrible it is. That really tells you all you need to know about them.
