Installing Linux As a Radical Act of Privacy

Long time readers will recognize that the theme of this website is a combination of cybersecurity, privacy, and Linux. It is pretty obvious why I see cybersecurity and privacy as complimentary topics: you literally can't have meaningful privacy without security, but security doesn't equate to privacy. What often trips people up is how Linux fits into the equation.

Lots of Benefits to Linux

Linux has inherent benefits as an operating system over its commercially provided competitors:

• Ridiculously long hardware support: It was just this year (2026) that the kernel finally dropped support for Intel 486 processors, which stopped being produced for desktop computers in 1998! Apple and Microsoft only support desktop hardware officially for about 8 to 10 years.
• Good performance on older hardware: I routinely install Linux on 13 year old computers and use them for common computing tasks. No, you're not going to play "Call of First Person Mega Shooter With Unbelievable Graphics" on a 2013 computer, but let's face it, you're going to have trouble playing that on a 3 year old computer running Windows, aren't you?
• The Linux architecture is inherently more secure than the Windows one. This isn't throwing shade at Microsoft, it is about design choices made early on that are just better at handling issues. (the underpinnings of MacOS are extremely similar to Linux for the same reasons)
• There are over 30 different Linux "flavors," offering a choice of Linux environments to meet your particular needs.
• Containerization and sand boxing of applications is now a standard capability in Linux.
• No requirement to have an online account with the OS manufacturer.
• No "nagware" trying to get you to use the OS manufacturer's cloud for your storage.
• No pre-installed "bloatware" from the hardware manufacturer.
• The people who build Linux aren't doing it to make money off of you, the end user.

Of These, Privacy May Be Most Important

Let's be blunt here: Google makes money by selling you to advertisers. Microsoft is making more and more of their money the same way, while at the same time adding privacy invading AI and other tools to their core OS. Apple seems to be walking a tightrope here, clearly they're the most privacy focused of the "big 3" OS providers, but even they seem to have some holes in the privacy bucket. At a minimum they're using metadata about you to shape their own interactions with you.

None of that sounds very private, does it? Yet privacy is an essential human right we all guard carefully, in the "physical world." Don't believe me? So why are there curtains on your windows? How come you don't discuss your salary openly at work? Why do you shut the door when you and your significant other want to have some "quality time?"

The privacy we demand in the physical world is just easier to identify than the privacy we need in the data world - but that is infinitely harder to grasp on a daily basis.

Real World Examples - Data Your OS Is Collecting (and Sharing) About You

Let's start our discussion with what Microsoft is currently collecting via Windows 11.

Data You Can't Turn Off

Required diagnostic events and fields for Windows 11, version 26H1 - Windows Privacy

Learn more about the diagnostic data gathered for Windows 11, version 26H1.

Microsoft Learnbrianlic-msft

I'd encourage you to click the link above and just look at the headings. Notice in the "In this article" section the "show 44 more" topics hyperlink: yes, there are more than 50 different categories of data Microsoft is collecting in real time from your Windows 11 computer. In fact, they even have a dedicated tool for you to watch what's being sent - for transparency sake.

Note, too, that this information is contained in a document "Windows Privacy Compliance: A Guide for IT and Compliance Professionals." That's not a title that says "here's a friendly way for you, the end user, to understand how invasively we're gathering data about you." Or, in other words, unless you are professionally invested in privacy or IT (let's face it, you probably need to be invested in both) you're probably not going to understand this anyway.

Data You Can Turn Off (allegedly)

At that same link you can see what "Optional Windows diagnostic data" is collected. Let's just have a look at the types included:

• Common data extensions (diagnostic header information)
• Device, Connectivity, and Configuration data
• Product and Service Usage data
• Product and Service Performance data
• Software Setup and Inventory data
• Browsing History data
• Inking, Typing, and Speech Utterance data

Can we just take a moment and ask the question: what exactly does Microsoft think "diagnostic data" is? What websites I went to? Really? What I typed? Honestly?

At least there is an interface to turn these things off, but remember, this is 7 categories of data, and the stuff you "automatically send" includes over 50 categories. Sort of like saying you can change the volume of the radio by 10dB up or down, but the base volume is set at 80dB - you're never going to get the radio to mute.

Total Recall

Then there's the "built in AI!" with tools like Copilot and Recall. And while these aren't mandatory they tend to be "opt out" instead of "opt in," meaning you have to turn them off because they're enabled by default. which is not a privacy forward position. There are plenty of articles on how these tools aren't private in the least, so I won't waste time here.

Then There's the Global Device ID...

This made the news rather recently, ant it seems that this GDID is a unique identifier that Microsoft assigns to each installation of Windows that you have no way to control: you can't turn it off, you can't change it short of reinstalling Windows. (well, without some serious hacking - let's face it, all things are hackable given enough time, effort, and interest). It is also clear that Microsoft shares this ID with 3rd parties. This became news because it was apparently central to arresting a member of "Scattered Spider." So you can enable all the privacy controls you want, but anybody with access to this GDID (and we don't really know who has access to that, let alone who may have hacked access to it) can track your actions back to you.

Linux Is Far More Private

While no computer system is completely private unless it is kept off of the Internet (and even then...ok, that's a rabbit hole for a later, more paranoid post), but Linux starts off right. By default the OS doesn't collect anything about your actions or activities. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

Hard to believe? Maybe because you've been conditioned by Microsoft and Google. But honestly, pick a mainstream Linux build and you'll find that nothing goes back to the "mothership." In fact, there's generally not a "mothership" to send data back to.

That privacy is both intentional and incidental. Linux has always been intended to be lightweight, capable of being run on older and/or less powerful hardware. Tracking capabilities require overhead, and do not directly benefit the user/owner of the Linux system. That's part of how Linux has stayed private. The other part has been about who really builds and Linux. Mostly this is done by a collection of otherwise unaffiliated people, groups, and some companies. There's no central company that is setting a financial direction for what needs to be built into Linux: the community identifies a need and builds a solution to that need. Thus far the community hasn't found a need to intentionally add user tracking capabilities.

Putting Your Money Where Your Values Are

There are two great ways to act on your interest in having an OS that respects your privacy.

Install Linux On Your Existing Laptop

Sure, you already paid for a laptop with (probably) Windows on it. But the best time to switch it to Linux was yesterday. The second best time is today. You immediately deprive Microsoft of their ability to monetize your activities, as well as actually extending the useful life of your computer. As of 2026 I run Linux on computers as old as 2013 and they function quite well for doing the basics: office work, web browsing, watching content, etc. That means you won't be shelling out for a new laptop (with or without Windows on it) for longer than you would if you continued running Windows. Sure, this can be daunting the first time you do it, but you can do this! Here are instructions to help you along:

Installing Linux For the First Time

Installing Linux for the first time can feel daunting. It’s also quite freeing and rewarding. Let’s get you started.

Between Two FirewallsBill Bernard

Buying a Computer With Linux Preinstalled

Believe it or not, there are over a dozen companies who make workstations and laptops that have Linux preinstalled on them. That means these manufacturers don't pay Microsoft the OEM price to ship the computer with Windows on it. You get a computer that was designed to work with Linux from the start, and you know that drivers, software, etc. will be supported "from the factory."

Some major name manufacturers such as Dell, Lenovo, and sometimes HP sell computers with Linux installed on them directly to end users. In other cases there are more specialty focused companies like System76, Framework, and several others are out there too. A good search engine will help you find them.

It is within your power to take back your privacy at the OS level. I hope that you choose to.