> The reality is that nothing you do on a computer connected to the internet should be considered private.
So let's accept that as a baseline? Why is that even 'normal' ?
It's my PC, not theirs. I licensed the OS, but I didn't tell them to do any other thing. My PC is connected through routers which at least for the first hops I control myself, how is it then 'normal' I still am not able (!) to stop an outside company from peeking into what I do on my pc?
Privacy is analogous to security. The only private computer is one that is not turned on. Connecting a computer to the internet makes information about you less private. That's as true running Linux as it is for Windows...turn it on and connect it to the internet and information about you leaks because the fact that your computer connected to the internet is loggable on the internet side of your router.
More importantly, that information about you leaked because of your deliberate decision to connect to the internet. The only way Microsoft could have protected you is to prohibit your connecting, and even then you'd probably work around it because that's more or less how Windows 3.1 machines connected to the internet (with 3rd party software, I'm not suggesting Microsoft prohibited connecting, they just didn't support it).
Load on user land apps and more information leaks, and Microsoft can't prevent it. Run OS features that require a web backend and there's more information leaks. Nobody can provide a fulfillable written guarantee of privacy for web connected apps. Microsoft's privacy policy reflects this reality.
Can Microsoft treat your with a different level of respect for your privacy than Google? Perhaps, since its business model is different. So it's really a matter of tradeoffs and trust and alignment of interests. If Microsoft's policy is a problem, and it's no worse than Google's provision to use your data for new products and services, then don't use Windows. But at least Microsoft is being honest for the industry standard definition of "honest". That that standard is less than "We'll use your data however we please" is unfortunate.
So let's accept that as a baseline? Why is that even 'normal' ?
It's my PC, not theirs. I licensed the OS, but I didn't tell them to do any other thing. My PC is connected through routers which at least for the first hops I control myself, how is it then 'normal' I still am not able (!) to stop an outside company from peeking into what I do on my pc?