Facepalm: Microsoft is increasingly pushing its Copilot AI service onto lower-tier Windows users. The company aims to "help" gamers with Gaming Copilot, but the tool may raise privacy concerns by capturing screenshots during gaming sessions.
Microsoft appears to be capturing large numbers of screenshots through Gaming Copilot, extracting text from them, and using the data to further train its AI models. A user recently discovered a potential breach of both privacy and trust related to the Copilot tool, which is now automatically installed on Windows 11 PCs alongside the latest OS updates.
A ResetEra forum user named "RedbullCola" discovered what Gaming Copilot was doing by analyzing network traffic from his system. According to his findings, the chatbot was sending almost all of his activity to Microsoft, including an unreleased game he was playing under a non-disclosure agreement with the developers.
In short, Gaming Copilot was taking screenshots of RedbullCola's gaming session, extracting text using OCR algorithms, and transmitting the data to Microsoft servers. This behavior potentially violated the user's privacy and, paradoxically, placed him at risk of breaching his NDA, meaning he could have been both a victim of Microsoft's AI exploitation and inadvertently implicated in violating confidentiality terms.
The automatic screenshot feature is enabled by default, according to RedbullCola, but it can be disabled through the Gaming Copilot settings in the Xbox Game Bar. Microsoft introduced the Copilot for Gaming service earlier this year, promoting it as an "intelligent" assistant that could help players improve performance with tips, narrated walkthroughs, and more.
However, Microsoft did not disclose to RedbullCola – or any users – that the service would collect screenshots and other data to improve its AI models. While some may view this as a minor privacy concern, it could also draw scrutiny from EU authorities under GDPR regulations.
ResetEra users are now debating whether Microsoft is using Gaming Copilot data to train AI models or merely to enhance the service. The distinction may be largely semantic, given that any collection of personal gaming activity raises potential privacy issues.
Copilot and other AI-driven features recently added to Windows PCs are fueling growing unease among users. Some vendors are pushing back, and users concerned about privacy may wish to disable all AI and Copilot features while using Windows.