Kinect 2 - Your Personal Data Can Be Sent

Microsoft, in the minds of many today, seems to be hiring new people for the Xbone (sic) experience (sicker) purely so that it has more in-office feet to shoot. But let's relax and see how the new Kinect experience is going to work.

According to a document called "Privacy by Design: How Xbox One and the New Kinect Sensor Put You in Control" the following is true when related to your personal data:

"You are in control of your personal data: You can play games or enjoy applications that use data, such as videos, photos, facial expressions, heart rate and more, but this data will not leave your Xbox One without your explicit permission," Microsoft thoughtfully provided some examples:

"A fitness game could measure heart rate data to provide you with improved feedback on your workout, allow you to track your progress, or even measure calories burned.

"A card game could allow you to bluff your virtual opponent using your facial expressions."

Lovely, lovely examples. So, definitely not what TV you've watched, when you changed channels, how long you watched for then.

Also in the document:

"You are in control of when Kinect sensing is On, Off or Paused: If you don’t want the Kinect sensor on while playing games or enjoying your entertainment, you can pause Kinect. To turn off your Xbox One, just say “Xbox Off.” When the system is off, it’s only listening for the single voice command -- “Xbox On,” and you can even turn that feature off too. Some apps and games may require Kinect functionality to operate, so you’ll need to turn it back on for these experiences."

And...


"You can use other inputs to control your games, TV and entertainment experiences: While it’s faster to find what you’re looking for using your voice and gesture commands with Kinect, you can use a controller, your remote controls or your smart devices instead. And you can use all of these devices when Kinect is paused."

Source: Microsoft