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Microsoft installs Photos Add-on (DLC) automatically

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Deozaan:
I came to my PC today to find a message in the notification area telling me that a Photos Add-on had been installed. I clicked it to see what it was all about and it opened the Microsoft Store to the product page.

Photos Add-on is essentially free DLC for the Photos app. While my first impression of the software leaves me questioning its usefulness (it created a bunch of albums for me, but only from photos taken around 5 years ago), this post isn't really about the software itself. This is about the disturbing fact that Microsoft thinks it can (and should) install software on my PC without even asking me first. In my mind, this is different from bundling software with the OS installer, or even OS updates. While that is annoying, it could be said that the bundled software is part of the "feature improvements" the update brings.

But this was not an OS update. It was not even a Photos app update. It is just an out-of-the-blue download-and-install on a random day for no reason other than just because Microsoft decided they wanted me to have it.

It's disturbing and makes me feel violated in some sense. Like I had a home-invasion from someone who saw through my windows that I eat bread and thought I'd really enjoy a certain flavor of jam to go with my bread.

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