Phil Harrison Says Kinect Won’t Snoop, Reassures Literally No One

The always-on Kinect required to have a functioning Xbox One has not gone unnoticed.  In the modern age of online piracy and predatory advertising, people still hesitate to share their email address or real name over the internet.  Microsoft’s new console goes a full step further, not only knowing any user’s name and email address, but also knowing what they look and sound like.

This is clearly an issue for a large number of people.  Even people who make their living online, like me, start to get a bit iffy about the level of identification and the patents Microsoft has filed related to using that information for advertising or licensing.  Phil Harrison, however, assures us Microsoft won’t snoop.

We take it very seriously. We aren’t using Kinect to snoop on anybody at all. We listen for the word ‘Xbox on’ and then switch on the machine, but we don’t transmit personal data in any way, shape or form that could be personally identifiable to you, unless you explicitly opt into that.

The quote makes for a great soundbyte, but it still comes down to those to trusting Microsoft.  I might be better inclined to do so if Microsoft did not have several patents already that would require the Kinect be doing exactly what Harrison says it will not be.

I might be better inclined to believe him if the Xbox One did not look like a glorified DVR, with a focus on the highly-corporate world of television.  I might even be likely to believe him if Microsoft had been able to get at least its own story straight when asked direct questions over the last week since the reveal.

Do we remember this?

I’m sorry, Mr. Harrison.  The past week was a perfect chance for Microsoft to give us all reasons to trust your word.  Frankly, you guys blew it.  We need more than promises from someone we have supposedly gotten false information from already before we can be comfortable playing into the ad-patents and global voice/facial recognition.