Which Device AI Spies on You the Most: Microsoft Apple or Google? NOT Who You Think | Rob Braxman Tech

So who’s worse at spying on you? Microsoft, Apple or Google? Now, if I add Amazon here, then we can have Maga, but I’ll only focus on companies making operating systems. For now, I know what your perceptions are based on what you’ve mostly heard from marketing mumbo jumbo. If you’re not a regular follower, I would say with 90% accuracy that your guests would be wrong. Now some of you may not particularly care which of these companies are the worst of surveillance because you assume they are all bad. But in this video you’ll understand what they’re doing in a deeper way.

You will also be interested in the different approaches each of these companies take in knowing you deeply and seriously. It’s very intense surveillance. The motives may be different, but the end result is the same. The motive here is very important. Often you all make assumptions about a big tech company’s direction because you misunderstand their motive. So today we’ll make these clear. Although I made a career of starting tech companies, I’ve also turned out to be a student of history, tech history. So I’ve watched patterns that understand directions, perhaps in a way others cannot see. So what I say here will not be publicly stated, but I can help you see the writing on the wall.

If you think youll all be interested to know what I see from these big tech companies, then stay right there. Okay, spoiler alert. All of these companies are really bad. The story a couple of years ago could have been different, but clearly each company now has a very well defined direction that they are following. The direction for all three is driven by AI. So this is really an AI story. Obviously, each of these companies sell different things. Apple primarily sells phones and computers. Google sells phones and uses Internet services with advertising. Microsoft is focused on computers.

For this reason, the integration of AI may be different for each one. Before AI, I would clearly say to you that the surveillance leader is definitely Google. But things are changing and we’ll find out if they will be surpassed or has been surpassed. It’s actually extraordinary what Google has done. Just think about this. Probably 90% of the population, maybe the world, has some sort of Gmail account. Many have multiple Gmail accounts. So that alone is a big hook into the Google ecosystem. Once you are required to log into Google Daily to check your email, they’ve got you.

Google has successfully integrated itself into every school and university. In fact, most student email systems in most schools are actually Gmail, and students are heavy users of Google Docs. YouTube also ranks as the second most popular search engine, right after Google search itself. Some of you who are innocent to the spyware think this is it and have no imagination to what these companies could possibly do. Well, in Google’s case, the whole spyware infrastructure is related to their control of the whole Internet itself cannot be duplicated by either Microsoft or Apple. The whole infrastructure is leveraged to the Google ID.

If you log into any Google app such as Gmail, or if you are using a Google Android and are logged into that with your Google ID, then anything you do on the Internet is completely tracked rather easily. Your Google ID becomes part of the Internet interaction. I’m not going to go into a long explanation of the technical aspects of this, but this is connected to Google Ads and Google Analytics which are integrated to the vast majority of websites and platforms. I would say 98% of all websites have either Google Ads or Google Analytics in it. This means that these websites have willingly put Google spyware on their sites that can then record a Google iD.

This google spyware can then see anything you click on the Internet. In addition you have your interactions with Google search, YouTube search, and of course Google itself reads everything in your gmail or in your Google Docs, google photos and so on. So they have a massive amount of data about each and every one of you. If Google wants it can then do a very personalized Google Gemini AI based on all it knows. I havent seen that yet. So it suggests this is not yet their current strategy. You would then think from this that Apple and Microsoft have no shot at competing with this.

This is a gigantic ecosystem that cannot be cracked. Lets look at the valuation ranking of these three companies. You think the top two companies will see to Google? Not a chance. So lets talk about Microsoft for a second. Microsoft saw the writing on the wall and they want to lock themselves into the top positions of big tech. They think that the next battle for your eyes and attention will be about AI. So Microsoft is now the biggest investor in OpenAid, currently thought to be the leader in the AI field. And Microsoft leveraged this investment in OpenAI by now integrating OpenAI into Windows which is now referred to as Microsoft Copilot.

Copilot is based on OpenAI models though they run separately on Microsoft servers. We’ll get into this later when it’s Apple’s term, but Apple intelligence also uses openaid. Let me tell you though what the whole AI thing is all about. In order for the AI to function the way these big text giants imagine, the AI has to know you very well. The AI is intended to be your personal assistant, but this assistant needs intense knowledge to know your every desire in advance. And Google, of course, has Google Gemini. And this is being integrated into the new Google Pixels, like the Google Pixel nine.

Think about the advantage that Google has though. Google already knows everything about all of you. If you log in, Google will then uncover your Google id. From there they can look historically at everything you’ve done on the Internet and can then have the AI react to you like it’s your old friend. It’s clear then that Microsoft would start off in a very hard position in comparison to Google, because as much as Microsoft has tried to be a spy company over the years, the fact of the matter is that they have failed. Those of us who know Windows very well in the past have been able to switch off Microsoft spyware features to ensure that Microsoft collects the most minimal pieces of information about its users.

But this is now changing. As many of you know, Microsoft has introduced copilot PCs. These are a specific category of laptops that have the AI hardware, specifically NPU chips, and the processing power to run AI locally. So beginning at the end of 2024, it will not be possible to buy a mainstream laptop with Microsoft Windows that does not have the ability to run AI locally. That’s the very first step of this move, but this still doesn’t give the AI any data. So the next step followed. This step is called Windows recall. Many of you have heard of the incredibly privacy invading features of these changes being added into Windows eleven, and I’ve made several videos about it.

The first element of Windows recall is that in order to capture your behavior on a copilot PC, Windows will take screenshots of your screen every few seconds, but it doesnt end there. Windows then uses the AI, the built in AI model running locally, to then examine these screenshots and evaluate them and understand its context. This is quite powerful. The AI can see what youre doing on the screen and not just know the basics of what apps are running, but what youre actually seeing, including all graphical content. I made a video demonstrating what’s possible with Windows recall.

I actually wrote some code to duplicate Windows recall, and if you’re not shocked by that, well then you love to be spied on. Windows recall is not just screenshots. Since there are older versions of Windows eleven without a full AI, they made sure to include little pieces of code, some of which are easily seen like key logging, and some are under the hood that we cannot see. Keylogging is often seen as malware, where your keystrokes are intercepted and examined to capture passwords and secret conversations, for example. Now it can be used to track every thought that you type on the machine.

It will not be possible to hide conversations, even using encrypted apps. If Windows is key logging if you’re a user of Windows Eleven and got their recent updates, you will find that it now records every single interaction in Windows, including app launches, Internet access and so on, and puts it into history. This can be seen as recent activity on the start screen. But what bothers me is as extensive as the activity logging is on recent activity, what else is going on? So the basic change in how you use your devices beginning in 2024 is that Windows Eleven will now start collecting data on you based on what you do on the computer.

This is a whole different level. Now, obviously Windows can already see every file on your machine which it already scans daily using Windows Defender, the antivirus. So expect that there are other tools utilized to add to the data. So the computer knows you very well. Now the ante has been raised to serious levels when Windows now has the capacity to learn so much of your personal behavior. If you’re using this device for personal use, for business use, the subtleties of business life will be interesting when the computer knows how you really feel about certain coworkers or superiors, and those superiors can access your computer.

I want to make sure you all understand the end goal here. Make the computer the most intense data collector of your life’s activities, the point of which is to use this data to power the AI. Previous concepts in the last 20 years, like encryption, secret communications and so on, will be rendered obsolete by these new technologies. And Microsoft wants to be on the forefront of this. Many of us already rely on the computers to be the center of our activities, though for a younger crowd, this center has moved to the mobile phone. But that will come with the discussion of Apple.

Now this is the tying of the ribbon, so to speak, with this technology. The idea here is that this data will not be forwarded to Microsoft. So opposite to a Google approach of being a central repository of all data, Microsoft will claim that all of your data will be on device only. No one else can see. Unless of course they have access to the device or if they can hack the device or if they have rights to see it, like the corporate owner. But what’s the point then of collecting all this data and no one at Microsoft gets to see it? Well, this is pulling from the Apple playbook.

You know, privacy is iPhone. Windows recall is a feature looking for a problem to solve. A feature no one asked for a feature which, to be honest with you, is of dubious value to normal users. The additional features like key logging and activity tracking also are of dubious value, so they make it seem practical by displaying recent activity in your start window. But all this had real value to Microsoft. Again, understand that Microsoft has no serious collection of personal data about its users. Now it will have it. However, you must put the Microsoft AI in perspective.

I shouldn’t need to tell you that the AI on Microsoft copilot does not operate independently. It is thoroughly linked to the main Microsoft copilot servers, which there are a ton of. Apparently it may actually be the largest pool of AI servers in the world, and Microsoft is adding thousands of gpu’s a month to support this. There is the potential at some point for the AI to be the observer, the entity watching over your shoulder, which can report you to some government or some watchdog. I’ll give you food for thought here. AI running at the behest of the operating system.

Windows in this case is not running on your behalf, it runs on behalf of its creator. How can I get this far without mentioning Apple? Now, Apple doesn’t have necessarily the market share in computers. On computers, the dominant player is still Microsoft, but the trend is now for younger people to not even use computers outside of work. Everyone is geared towards mobile. The new iPhone 16 can have up to 1 storage, so they really want you to put your entire life in there. What’s different about the iPhone 16 versus a Microsoft Windows computer is that a mobile phone has a ton of sensors.

And this is where Apple has really put its focus on while Google is trying to follow every iPhone feature. Clearly though, the new iPhone 16 is the ultimate surveillance device. The IR sensor is automatically detecting the environment every few seconds, scanning movement. The camera is tracking your eyes to see what you’re focused on. The microphone is listening to everything being said, supposedly to listen for vocal shortcuts. The phone is scanning for other iPhones and airtags in the vicinity and basically reporting what it finds. The phone is capable of sending messages to Apple without Internet by using Bluetooth.

Ble location tracking is constant twenty four seven. And they fool people to think that it’s controllable via find my phone something extremely scary. And that is the media analysis deprogram that scans your photos and analyzes their content. Basically a media scanning that predated Windows recall. So here Apple was first. Gyro sensors and GPS sensors sensing positional changes, which I’m sure is to make sure you’re exercising properly. I mean, it goes on and on. And I’m even skipping things like app telemetry, Bluetooth, contact tracing, icloud private relay where they have the capacity to surveil your full network traffic and DNS.

Okay, let’s be clear on what I’m saying here. Although a Microsoft Windows computer can learn a lot by spying on all your computer activities, there really is a different element with a mobile device because of the number of sensors that can really capture a lot more private information, much more so than a computer that stays in one spot. And you guessed it, AI is of course ever present in the new iPhone 16, now called Apple intelligence. It is, as I said earlier, another version of OpenAI. So as far as the base AI, Microsoft and Apple are the same here on the phone, which has a cpu comparable to the laptop.

Now the iPhone 16 can boast of a local AI running internally, super powered by the built in NPU and AI tuned CPU. I did a viral video on Apple’s iPhone 16 last week and obviously I was inundated with the extreme number of fanboys that had to disagree with me. Although they really had nothing to grab onto. Apples direction would not have been clear other than the fact that a couple of years ago they revealed their hand as to what the AI was going to be used for. Apple had the idea of using AI on an iPhone to examine media content to find illegal photos called CSAM.

Now I think this was not a random idea. I think it was a test of the waters to a new concept of surveillance. Now I wont belabor this point since my last video covers this, but the point is that they basically acknowledge that they can communicate with the AI to have the AI report things and the AI surveillance could then be funneled to law enforcement. Now fully understand the technology here. The tech allows communications between Apple and the AI to give it instructions on what to search for. That’s the whole concept of how the CSAM thing was to be implemented.

They now claim this project is suspended, but the modules that performed the analysis have increased geometrically with the capabilities of a full AI on the device. In other words, the only thing that keeps us from knowing what Apple can pull from our device is Apple. This is fully an assumption of trust with the company that just wants our money to make sure it remains at the top of the totem pole at 3.37 trillion valuation. Now some will say that Apple is not in the advertising business and that is true for now, though the AI and how it works in the future could change that.

It may change because Apple will suddenly have data. By the way, Microsoft is now putting ads in windows and they were supposedly not in the advertising business. Why? Because they realize that they now have data. Google no longer has the monopoly on data. Let me make sure you understand the Apple motivations though. What is the biggest threat to Apple being the most powerful corporation in the world? Well, I’ll make it clear to you, the threat is some government. An example threat is China. If Apple were banned from China, the company would be severely affected. That is an example of a huge market.

How is an iPhone freely accepted in China? I will tell you how. And AI will have a lot to do with this going forward. I already explained to you that Apple claimed they can communicate with the AI and have the AI surveil certain content on your phone. I dont know why the fanboys denied this. This is all public and true, but Apple also compromised with China in order to operate in China and Apple cannot refuse the chinese government. So iPhones in China run on Apple’s chinese servers. Also at the moment I hear that the Apple intelligence Ui is not active for users in China, but that does not mean it is not installed, just not being used by users to query things.

So all the surveillance then can be done in conjunction with the chinese government. If Apple previously claimed that they can scan the content of the iPhones using AI, then obviously we should expect the government to be able to also get that information. But this will not be limited to just the chinese government. It is to apples benefit to stop the bad press from three letter agencies always wanting to break into iPhones. Now that now they, now they don’t have to. I wonder why they’re silence on examining the phone of Trump shooter Thomas crooks. Well the only reason the three later agencies don’t complain anymore must be because they now have access.

And access is achieved by asking the AI to analyze the phone. Yes, Apple can claim no Apple employee sees a phone and it’s true because that has been delegated to the AI. Well based on this information, I’m now going to put Apple at number one the worst. And this is the company that says privacy is iPhone the biggest sucking lie ever. Google is trying to implement these features including things like a ble mesh network, of course Google Gemini, AI and they also do 24/7 location tracking. But Google doesnt have the incentive necessarily to collect data on the phone to the degree that Apple has because they already have other sources of data.

However, from a privacy point of view, the Apple technology is more scary to me because it completely cancels end to end encryption and other more serious privacy tools if the AI can analyze what it sees on the screen. Basically, now you have someone always watching over your shoulder. I ranked Google number two. Google is still pretty powerful and has all the data about you, from your food choices to your politics. But as of right now, not as serious of a threat as Apple. Google’s motivation still focuses on advertising, and the AI I’m sure will be used to enhance that.

For this reason, I don’t see the kind of extreme device logging that you see in windows and iOS. Yet Google publicly shares its data like the 24/7 location data to government. The January 6 riders who were charged somewhere around 1000 people were identified using the data from the Google sensor vault. But there are many ways of beating the Google surveillance. If you follow my channel, I have 10 million ways from the Google phones to browser isolation and various techniques I’ve taught over the years. Now, last in the list is Microsoft at number three. Microsoft is really trying hard to be a surveillance company and they have the potential here to get ahead of Google or at least stay close to Google.

This is if they convince people to follow their direction and accept it. With Microsoft copilot personally, this is the easiest one to circumvent. Just leave Microsoft Windows and go to Linux. Tracking ended. I just eliminated the use of Windows for any personal use traffic completely. This Windows recall is just too much. They’re gonna lose market share. Let’s see how many people they fool folks. Privacy is a battle between us, the little people and big tech. Fortunately, we can still retain our privacy with a little knowledge and some tools. We have a platform, Braxmever, which is over 100,000 users, where people discuss privacy issues daily.

I have a store there with products that are proven tools that can protect your privacy. We have products like the Brax Virtual phone, Pixeld Google phones, Braxmail and Bytes VPN and coming up for pre order very soon is a new model privacy phone called the Brax three, which will be our latest contribution. It will run an open source Braxos and may be supported by other open source OS makers as well. Manufacturing phones is a very difficult proposition, but we have accomplished it and at an extremely affordable price of 279, come to Braxme and keep up with all this.

Thank you for watching and see you next time.
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