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I recently tried to delete my Microsoft account. The system wouldn't let me (it gave me a popup saying "known issues exist"). I spent a long time trying to figu

I recently tried to delete my Microsoft account. The system wouldn't let me (it gave me a popup saying "known issues exist"). I spent a long time trying to figure out how to contact Microsoft until I just emailed the data controller saying I want to delete my account. We went back and forth with support for a month until it got escalated to executive support. They closed it saying they can't help me and I need to open a new ticket with 365 commercial support. I gave up.

dmd 2y ago
> I gave up. That is the idea, yes.
GeekyBear 2y ago
Your Microsoft account doubles as your advertising profile, so you can see how they wouldn't want to delete it now that they have embraced the surveillance capitalism business model.
- mistrial9 2y ago
  Now that you have embraced the surveillance capitalism business model
hash872 2y ago
Just find random Microsoft executives off LinkedIn, figure out their work email, and cc them on the conversation. I would search for anyone in 'privacy' and related keywords. One of them will see your email, mysteriously escalate it internally, and it'll be done. I say this as someone who has done this sort of thing multiple times now. It's always easier for the company to comply with the crazy person who's willing to directly email executives. If they don't initially respond, just keep cc'ing them and politely sending emails 'hello, I'm just looking to follow up on this so that I don't have to escalate'. I promise you that this works
- fingerlocks 2y ago
  These emails will be flagged and likely auto-deleted before they hit the inbox. Many people, myself included, set up a filter to flag or delete anything that’s not from an @microsoft email. It’s easy to grant an @microsot address to any vendors you’re working with so there’s almost no reason to talk to outsiders that haven’t been vetted, and there’s a constant stream of phishing as well.
  - JB_Dev 2y ago
    Execs talk to customers all the time and so wouldn’t auto delete emails tagged external.
    - authorfly 2y ago
      Not true at any company or university lab I have worked at recently. Particularly research labs and professors have switched to just accepting academic emails recently which I somewhat oppose personally.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- rz2k 2y ago
  That sounds counterproductive towards creating the better world you are hoping to create. If you're going to use channels of communication that will be shut down after only a few uses that are contrary to the recipients' interests, they should be saved for issues of real rather than symbolic substance. It does matter whether or not corporations let people easily delete their profiles and accounts, but that won't be solved by a small number of savvy people getting exceptions without actually convincing anyone that the greater principle is important. It will be solved either through regulations, or through convincing the vast majority of users that failing to fulfill this duty irrevocably damages that company's reputation. Regulators this year are just barely on the side of protecting consumers, and next year they will likely begin dismantling many of these requirements. When it comes to actual consumers, I bet barely 10% of people think it is important, and if they do they are convinced it is an inevitability, rather than the type of product defect that justifies them not using a service or product. In the case of Microsoft, becoming an absurd squeaky wheel seems like a personally risky thing to do. Certainly such messages could be interpreted as violating some portion of LinkedIn's professional community policies. The parent organization of LinkedIn, which is of course Microsoft, could decide when those policies need to be more strictly enforced.
justinclift 2y ago
Guessing you're not in the EU?
tbrownaw 2y ago
Does "littering is bad" really need to apply to megacrops' databases?

dmd 2y ago

> I gave up. That is the idea, yes.

GeekyBear 2y ago

Your Microsoft account doubles as your advertising profile, so you can see how they wouldn't want to delete it now that they have embraced the surveillance capitalism business model.

mistrial9 2y ago
Now that you have embraced the surveillance capitalism business model

hash872 2y ago

Just find random Microsoft executives off LinkedIn, figure out their work email, and cc them on the conversation. I would search for anyone in 'privacy' and related keywords. One of them will see your email, mysteriously escalate it internally, and it'll be done. I say this as someone who has done this sort of thing multiple times now. It's always easier for the company to comply with the crazy person who's willing to directly email executives. If they don't initially respond, just keep cc'ing them and politely sending emails 'hello, I'm just looking to follow up on this so that I don't have to escalate'. I promise you that this works

fingerlocks 2y ago
These emails will be flagged and likely auto-deleted before they hit the inbox. Many people, myself included, set up a filter to flag or delete anything that’s not from an @microsoft email. It’s easy to grant an @microsot address to any vendors you’re working with so there’s almost no reason to talk to outsiders that haven’t been vetted, and there’s a constant stream of phishing as well.
- JB_Dev 2y ago
  Execs talk to customers all the time and so wouldn’t auto delete emails tagged external.
  - authorfly 2y ago
    Not true at any company or university lab I have worked at recently. Particularly research labs and professors have switched to just accepting academic emails recently which I somewhat oppose personally.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
rz2k 2y ago
That sounds counterproductive towards creating the better world you are hoping to create. If you're going to use channels of communication that will be shut down after only a few uses that are contrary to the recipients' interests, they should be saved for issues of real rather than symbolic substance. It does matter whether or not corporations let people easily delete their profiles and accounts, but that won't be solved by a small number of savvy people getting exceptions without actually convincing anyone that the greater principle is important. It will be solved either through regulations, or through convincing the vast majority of users that failing to fulfill this duty irrevocably damages that company's reputation. Regulators this year are just barely on the side of protecting consumers, and next year they will likely begin dismantling many of these requirements. When it comes to actual consumers, I bet barely 10% of people think it is important, and if they do they are convinced it is an inevitability, rather than the type of product defect that justifies them not using a service or product. In the case of Microsoft, becoming an absurd squeaky wheel seems like a personally risky thing to do. Certainly such messages could be interpreted as violating some portion of LinkedIn's professional community policies. The parent organization of LinkedIn, which is of course Microsoft, could decide when those policies need to be more strictly enforced.

justinclift 2y ago

Guessing you're not in the EU?

tbrownaw 2y ago

Does "littering is bad" really need to apply to megacrops' databases?