These changes are only applicable to users in the EEA. For those outside the region, Windows will continue to function as it is!
The changes to Windows for DMA-compliance include:
- You can now uninstall Edge and Bing web search using the built-in settings. Earlier, the option was greyed out.
- Third-party web search application developers can now utilize the Windows search box in the taskbar using the instructions provided by Microsoft and choose any web browser to show results from the web.
- Microsoft will no longer sign-in users to Edge, Bing, and Microsoft Start services during the initial Windows setup experience.
- Data collected about the functioning of non-Microsoft apps, primarily bug detection and its effects on the OS, from Windows PCs will not be used for competitive purposes.
- Microsoft, from now on, will need explicit user consent before combining data from the OS and other sources. It will also deliver new consent screens where required.
Hard to score them 1 to 1. Apple for example is horrendous at controlling “your” system. Always have been. Tried to help a family member upgrade their MacBook SSD and it’s been an absolutely horrendous experience and I gave up and told her I couldn’t help her because the process of simply running an OS update was so ridiculously convoluted, not to mention the fact that you even need to update it at all to do so. But their devices are fairly private.
Google is just the complete opposite and empowers global surveillance.
How did you determine their devices are “fairly private”? Actually curious.
I disagree with that. Yes, they enable it, but you can turn (nearly) everything off in the settings and with a few ground rules things are quite good.
Take TikTok, Meta or something like that…you can’t turn off most of the data harvesting and profiling.