Microsoft's Anniversary update for Windows 10, which will start rolling out on 2 August, will strip users of the ability to disable Cortana: the tech giant's voice-activated artificial intelligence (AI) personal assistant.
Users can turn off the AI, which comes with the operating system, in the current latest version of Windows 10, but will no longer be able to do so after the approaching update.
The upcoming change sparks privacy concerns due to the "always listening" nature of voice-activated systems, which constantly record every sound around them to determine whether they are being called, and send much of their collected data to their parent companies.
With the Anniversary update, Windows 10 users concerned about privacy can sign out of their Cortana accounts to use the feature anonymously, although several would prefer not to use it at all.
"Generally speaking, Windows 10 is pretty great, and Cortana is a big part of why I personally love it so much. But it's always disappointing to see Microsoft take away user choice, especially for something that's as central to their day as the Windows 10 PC," wrote Matt Weinberger for Business Insider.
Cortana also came under fire this year for forcing users' choice of Web browser and search engine, as it uses only Microsoft's Edge browser and Bing search engine as of April.
In addition, Microsoft has been criticised for "tricking" many users into updating to Windows 10 when they had chosen not to, by using misleading "recommended update" pop-up windows.
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