Windows Sucks

Introduction

Windows has long dominated the desktop market, but its reign comes with a growing list of frustrations that make many power users wonder whether the operating system is still worth the hassle. Below are the most compelling reasons why Windows feels increasingly out‑of‑step with today’s privacy‑conscious, productivity‑driven audience.

1. Privacy Erosion at Every Turn

Telemetry Overload

Windows ships with extensive telemetry that continuously streams diagnostic data, usage statistics, and even hardware fingerprints back to Microsoft. While some telemetry is necessary for security updates, the sheer volume of data collected feels invasive, especially when the UI offers only vague toggles. The lack of a clear, human‑readable “privacy ledger” leaves users guessing what exactly is being sent.

Forced Microsoft Accounts

Recent changes to the out‑of‑box experience (OOBE) effectively force new installations to use a Microsoft account, even for users who simply want a local profile. This ties every device to a cloud identity, making it harder to keep personal data offline. Although you can later switch to a local account, the extra steps are a deliberate friction point.

OneDrive Default Saves

Word, Excel, and other Office apps now default to OneDrive storage, which does not provide end‑to‑end encryption. By default, Microsoft can read, index, and repurpose your documents for AI training or advertising purposes. Opt‑out requires digging through settings that are hidden under layers of “recommended” options.

Copilot Surveillance

The integration of Copilot across Windows, Office, and even gaming (Copilot Gaming) brings powerful AI assistance, but also new data collection vectors. Reports from the Resetera community suggest Copilot Gaming captures screenshots of gameplay without explicit consent, feeding them into OCR pipelines for model training. This mirrors the earlier Recall controversy, where screenshots were harvested for cloud backup without clear user permission.

2. Bloatware and Unwanted Apps

Companion Apps on Autoinstall

Starting in October 2025, Microsoft will automatically install People, Files, and Calendar companion apps on any Windows 11 machine that has the Microsoft 365 desktop suite. These apps appear in the Start menu and embed additional Copilot features, further expanding the surface area for data collection. Home users receive no prior notice and must manually uninstall them if they don’t want the extra baggage.

Persistent Advertising

From “Suggested Apps” in the Start menu to promotional tiles in the taskbar, Windows continues to pepper the UI with ads for Microsoft services, Xbox Game Pass, and third‑party partners. This turns a productivity platform into a marketing channel, distracting users and consuming bandwidth.

3. Power‑User Roadblocks

Limited Control Over Updates

While security patches are essential, the inability to defer or selectively apply updates forces many professionals into a “roll‑with‑the‑flow” mindset. Enterprise tools like WSUS or Group Policy can mitigate this, but home users are left with little recourse, often resulting in unexpected reboots or driver incompatibilities.

Fragmented Settings Experience

The split between the modern Settings app and the legacy Control Panel creates confusion. Critical options, like disabling telemetry or managing local accounts, are scattered, requiring multiple clicks and sometimes hidden behind “advanced” menus.

Missing Native Features

Power users frequently miss built‑in utilities that were standard in earlier Windows versions, such as a robust archive manager or a reliable command‑line package manager. Instead, they must rely on third‑party tools, which reintroduces security risks the OS originally tried to eliminate.

4. Corporate Shenanigans

Opaque Roadmaps

Microsoft’s shift toward “professional mode”, a proposed hidden tier that would give power users deeper system control, remains a rumor rather than a concrete feature. The lack of transparent communication fuels speculation that the company is planning a paywall for advanced functionality.

Monetization via Ecosystem Lock‑In

By bundling OneDrive, Microsoft 365, Xbox services, and Copilot into a single ecosystem, Microsoft subtly nudges users toward subscription models. The more you rely on integrated services, the harder it becomes to migrate away without losing data or workflow continuity.

Security Trade‑offs

While Windows Defender has improved, the rapid rollout of new features (e.g., AI‑driven assistants) sometimes outpaces thorough security vetting. The “fast‑track” approach can expose users to zero‑day vulnerabilities that are patched only after widespread exploitation.

5. AI Everywhere, How Microsoft Forces AI Into All Its Products

Since the launch of Copilot, Microsoft has made AI a mandatory component of virtually every consumer‑facing service:

• Windows Copilot: Integrated directly into the taskbar, it appears for every user on first login and cannot be fully disabled without registry hacks. It constantly monitors keystrokes, window titles, and clipboard contents to generate context‑aware suggestions.
• Office Copilot: Embedded in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, it drafts documents, creates spreadsheets, and writes emails while silently sending snippets of the content back to Microsoft’s cloud for model refinement. Opt‑out requires uninstalling the entire Office suite or editing policy files.
• Copilot Gaming: Enabled by default on Windows 11 24H2 builds, it records gameplay footage, extracts on‑screen text via OCR, and feeds the data into training pipelines. Users must manually turn the feature off in hidden settings, and the option disappears after major updates.
• OneDrive & SharePoint AI: Automatic tagging, photo enhancement, and “smart” organization run on Microsoft’s servers, meaning every file you store is analyzed for pattern recognition. The default “auto‑enhance” toggle is on, and turning it off requires deep navigation into the OneDrive admin console.
• Edge Browser AI: The new “Compose” and “Read Aloud” features pull content from visited pages into large language models, sending browsing history and page content to Microsoft’s servers. Disabling these features removes useful functionality but does not stop background telemetry that still logs page URLs and interaction metrics.

Risks and Privacy Implications

• Mass Data Harvesting: Continuous AI assistance means a steady stream of personal data, documents, emails, code snippets, screenshots, and even voice commands, leaves the device. Even if the data is anonymized, the sheer volume makes re‑identification possible.
• Model Poisoning & Bias: By training on user‑generated content without transparent consent, Microsoft risks embedding personal biases into its models, which can then affect the suggestions it returns to all users.
• Regulatory Exposure: Persistent cross, service data collection may conflict with GDPR, CCPA, or other regional privacy statutes that require explicit opt‑in for processing “special category” data.
• Security Surface Expansion: Each AI module adds libraries, background services, and network endpoints, increasing the attack surface. Vulnerabilities in the Copilot pipeline could allow remote code execution or data exfiltration.
• Lock‑In Pressure: Because AI features are tightly woven into the Microsoft ecosystem, opting out effectively removes many productivity conveniences, nudging users toward continued subscription of Microsoft 365, Azure AD, and related services.

Mitigations

• Turn Off Copilot: Use the Group Policy editor (Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Windows Copilot) and set “Allow Windows Copilot” to Disabled.
• Restrict Network Access: Block outbound connections to *.microsoft.com domains used by AI services via a firewall rule, then whitelist only essential services.
• Use Local‑Only AI: If assistance is needed, consider open‑source, on‑device AI tools that do not send data to the cloud (e.g., locally hosted LLaMA or GPT‑4‑All instances, LM Studio, Msty, Ollama).
• Monitor Updates: Read the “What’s new” notes for each Windows update; Microsoft often re‑enables AI components silently.

6. What Can Users Do?

1. Audit Telemetry Settings: Dive into Settings → Privacy & security and disable “Send diagnostic data” or set it to the minimal level. Consider third‑party tools like O&O ShutUp10 for finer control.
2. Prefer Local Accounts: During OOBE, disconnect from the internet (or use a temporary hotspot) to force the local‑account path, then link a Microsoft account later only if needed.
3. Redirect Cloud Saves: Change default save locations in Office apps to local folders or encrypted external drives.
4. Disable Companion Apps: Use Group Policy or the “Apps & features” panel to prevent People, Files, and Calendar from auto‑installing on personal machines.
5. Adopt Open‑Source Alternatives: Replace built‑in utilities with LibreOffice, GIMP, or VS Code to reduce reliance on Microsoft’s proprietary stack.
6. Turn Off AI Features: Follow the mitigations listed in the “AI Everywhere” section: disable Windows Copilot via Group Policy, block AI‑related outbound traffic, and consider on‑device AI solutions if assistance is required.
7. Switch to Linux: There are other operating systems out there that are superior to Windows.

Conclusion

Windows remains a technically capable platform, yet its default trajectory pushes users toward pervasive AI surveillance, aggressive data monetization, and a closed‑loop ecosystem that rewards continued subscription to Microsoft services. The combination of forced telemetry, mandatory cloud accounts, and AI features that operate behind opaque opt‑out mechanisms erodes privacy and limits genuine user control. Until Microsoft adopts transparent, truly opt‑in policies and decouples essential functionality from its AI‑driven services, power users and privacy‑concerned individuals will find the operating system increasingly misaligned with their needs. Exploring alternatives, whether open‑source Linux distributions or other privacy‑focused ecosystems, offers a clearer path to a computing environment that respects both freedom and security.

More Suckness

Your Word Docs Aren't Safe

Microsoft Word now defaults to saving new documents to OneDrive, which lacks end‑to‑end encryption. This means Microsoft can access the files, potentially use them for AI training, and could share the data, posing a significant privacy risk. Source

Former Windows Engineer claims Windows “sucks”, explains how he would fix it

The former Microsoft engineer Dave Plummer argues that Windows has become overly consumer‑focused, leaving power users frustrated because the OS is optimized for the median user. He proposes adding a “professional mode” that lets advanced users turbo‑charge Windows by reducing ads and nudges, consolidating controls, pre‑installing essential tools, and granting deeper system control. Key fixes he suggests include a transparent privacy ledger for telemetry, restoring optional local accounts, giving users granular update management (including rollbacks and deterministic scheduling), eliminating all ads and nags, improving core technical features like native archiving and moving non‑essential functions to user mode, and unifying Settings with the Control Panel while avoiding unwanted changes, prioritizing text‑first search, and ensuring clean, bloat‑free installations. Source Video

Microsoft Now Controls All Your Data

Microsoft’s privacy statement explains that Microsoft controls all personal data it collects, detailing how it uses that information, the legal grounds for processing it, and how it handles users’ content—including communications, submissions, and any files or media uploaded, stored, transmitted, created, or shared through its services. Source

Microsoft breaks more Windows 11 local account creation options

Microsoft is tightening Windows 11’s out‑of‑box experience (OOBE) to eliminate the shortcuts that let users create a local account during setup. In a recent Insider build, the company announced it will remove the known mechanisms that bypass Microsoft‑account sign‑in, arguing that those workarounds skip critical configuration screens. As a result, new installations will require an internet connection and a Microsoft account to complete OOBE; users can later switch to a local account, but doing so now involves extra steps. While Microsoft claims the change ensures devices are fully configured, critics see it as a push toward services tied to Microsoft accounts—such as Microsoft 365, Game Pass, Copilot, and Edge. Workarounds still exist (e.g., modifying installation media or using older images), but they are more technical and increase the risk of downloading compromised files. The move raises debate over whether users should be given a clear choice between local and Microsoft accounts during initial setup. Source

If you use Windows 11 and Microsoft 365, new apps will be installed automatically

Microsoft will begin automatically installing three new Microsoft 365 companion apps, People, Files, and Calendar, on Windows 11 PCs that already have the Microsoft 365 desktop suite, starting in early October 2025. These apps add AI‑powered Copilot features for contact management, file searching, and calendar handling, and will appear in the Start menu by default. Administrators of managed devices can block the rollout, but home users receive no advance notice and would need to uninstall the apps manually after they appear. The plan could still change, but no official revision has been announced yet. Source

Gaming Copilot AI is being trained by watching you play games, and it is on by default

Users on forums such as ResetEra claim that Microsoft’s Copilot Gaming—a beta AI feature for gaming tasks—is automatically capturing screenshots of gameplay without informing users. The captured images are reportedly processed with OCR to extract text, reminiscent of the earlier controversy around Microsoft’s Recall feature. While the behavior may vary by region, reports indicate the feature is enabled by default on some Windows 11 24H2 systems, raising privacy concerns because users aren’t notified or asked to opt‑in. Source