NVIDIA Adds Telemetry to Latest Drivers; Here's How to Disable It

[cdawall]

I feel your pain, I guess I just respond to it differently.

Everyone is evil the question is how evil are they. When nvidia starts using the driver to shut off "older" video cards I will worry horribly until then I just hope they use the data they collect to hand me a better product.

 

[Vayra86]

Everyone is evil the question is how evil are they. When nvidia starts using the driver to shut off "older" video cards I will worry horribly until then I just hope they use the data they collect to hand me a better product.

I feel mostly the same way. I can spend the better part of my life worrying about some form of security or privacy, or I can live it

When shit hits the fan, I'll start worrying about this and probably also act on it. Current experience with big data however, is the opposite; I've only seen it serve me well.

 

[R-T-B]

Everyone is evil the question is how evil are they. When nvidia starts using the driver to shut off "older" video cards I will worry horribly until then I just hope they use the data they collect to hand me a better product.

They already do phase out products from support, but not fast enough for me to care.

Point taken.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

After i install my GTX 970 i am looking forward to someone from Nvidia ringing me on my home phone, calling me by my first name and congratulating me - not only on my fabulous overclock but also on my choice of home furnishings....

 

[R-T-B]

After i install my GTX 970 i am looking forward to someone from Nvidia ringing me on my home phone, calling me by my first name and congratulating me - not only on my fabulous overclock but also on my choice of home furnishings....

If this happened, I would write down their caller ID number and give it to the department of scammers in Nigeria.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

I agree with newtekie1 on this, people are making mountains out of mole hills, and trusting and misinterpreting questionable sources in doing so.

The worst this amounts to is targeted advertising, and the target is your sys spec, not who you are, where you live, when you were born, your phone number, etc.

It's the same thing AMD, Google and pretty much every large tech corporation does on the net. I mean you can't even really disable the ads on AMD's installer, even though it has that option.

You can blame Nvidia for some things, but selling your personal info is not one of them. If the targeted ads bother you, just use a more secure browser. Even Chrome's Incognito mode doesn't retain cookies. Also, did you know most non tracking browsers are based on Chrome, like Epic Privacy Browser for instance? Epic also has a pretty good built-in ad blocker. They also have their own search engine that uses their own servers.

Just don't let this make you do something stupid like switch to an alternative capture tool if you're using ShadowPlay, because it's still the best tool of it's kind.

I'm really surprised TPU let this thread run so long, because it's misleading and unfair to Nvidia and their customers and potential customers. It should be locked if not deleted. At the very least the thread title should be changed.

Please tell me this forum is not becoming another Reddit? I believe in freedom of speech, not freedom to blatantly misspeak. One is a God given right, the other a weapon of the malcontent.

 

[R-T-B]

You can blame Nvidia for some things, but selling your personal info is not one of them.

I can, but I think of it as a minor sin in a world full of damned. I don't find targeted advertising without consent right, frankly, but there are way way bigger fish to fry in my world.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

I can, but I think of it as a minor sin in a world full of damned. I don't find targeted advertising without consent right, frankly, but there are way way bigger fish to fry in my world.

Don't think that I haven't read the posts where you were proven wrong on that. I think thus far you've been far less honest than Nvidia here.

Again, this is not the personal info data mining you claimed it was, far from it. It's merely shared info on system spec, that's the only way they're targeting, and many others do the very same thing.

This is basically a Chicken Little thread. The sky is not falling people, get over yourselves.

 

[R-T-B]

Don't think that I haven't read the posts where you were proven wrong on that. I think thus far you've been far less honest than Nvidia here.

How can a personal opinion be wrong? And yes, I do still consider none opt-outable system spec collection a minor sin in again, a world with much much worse going on.

I think I must be misunderstanding you somehow. My posts were not proven wrong that it's included in the Windows 10 display driver. It is. It still is. I never claimed anything else. Well, I mean I did claim that any issue having memory dumps has inherent risks (This includes every version of Windows ever, BTW). They do. Memory dumps by nature contain whatever was in memory (including yes, personal details). Where was I proven wrong, again?

I pride myself on my journalistic integrity, and if you think I am here to mislead people, you are dead wrong.

EDIT: If this is the post you're referencing, I came clean as soon as I realized my mistake (without being asked mind you). Not sure how that's dishonest at all:

https://www.techpowerup.com/forums/...-how-to-disable-it.227578/page-3#post-3550844

This is basically a Chicken Little thread. The sky is not falling people, get over yourselves.

I never claimed the sky was falling, either. This is more akin to "it's raining, that sucks, but what am I going to do about it?"

The answer is get an umbrella or disable the entries if you care, respectively. NVIDIA should still have an official way to do this.

 

[cdawall]

The answer is get an umbrella or disable the entries if you care, respectively. NVIDIA should still have an official way to do this.

Why? Why should Nvidia cater to a tiny percentage of people who care? I bet there are more people that use sli than are freaking out about telemetry and they don't even bother to support sli worth a hoot anymore. What's said is sli sells more cards, having telemetry doesn't make them sell less.

 

[R-T-B]

Why? Why should Nvidia cater to a tiny percentage of people who care? I bet there are more people that use sli than are freaking out about telemetry and they don't even bother to support sli worth a hoot anymore. What's said is sli sells more cards, having telemetry doesn't make them sell less.

Because the amount of effort involved is frickin' nill, and we (that being a lot more than you think) still believe data collection should not be a forced option on a commercial product, no matter how insignificant. It's a matter of principle more than concern, in my case.

And yes, that's a plenty good answer.

 

[toilet pepper]

My opinion on this is they should ask permission. I bought the card and not rent it from them. The drivers should not be attached with any telemetry without permission no matter what they data they are trying to mine. If it is for targeted ads then they should sell the card cheaper no matter if there are any competition or not. They shouldn't be able to have their cake and eat it too.

I wonder if (when will) nvidia and their AIB partners will stop honoring warranties if they see in their data that they mined that you've overclocked or flashed the gpu?

 

[cdawall]

Because the amount of effort involved is frickin' nill, and we (that being a lot more than you think) still believe data collection should not be a forced option on a commercial product, no matter how insignificant. It's a matter of principle more than concern, in my case.

And yes, that's a plenty good answer.

Remember we are what 1% of users on this forum? We don't really make a dent in sales. If less than 1% of PC owners fall into the data mining is evil belief....well that is even less. Nvidia stock didn't even really fall when the 970 nonsense happened.

I would really much rather have another working SLi profile vs an on/off button for phone home.

My opinion on this is they should ask permission. I bought the card and not rent it from them. The drivers should not be attached with any telemetry without permission no matter what they data they are trying to mine. If it is for targeted ads then they should sell the card cheaper no matter if there are any competition or not. They shouldn't be able to have their cake and eat it too.

I wonder if (when will) nvidia and their AIB partners will stop honoring warranties if they see in their data that they mined that you've overclocked or flashed the gpu?

Would be really hard for nvidia to limit AIB's on overclocking seeing how they sell overclocked cards from the factory.

 

[R-T-B]

My opinion on this is they should ask permission. I bought the card and not rent it from them. The drivers should not be attached with any telemetry without permission no matter what they data they are trying to mine. If it is for targeted ads then they should sell the card cheaper no matter if there are any competition or not. They shouldn't be able to have their cake and eat it too.

That's kind of my thoughts on the matter to a tee. If this was in Geforce Experience only I wouldn't even care.

Remember we are what 1% of users on this forum? We don't really make a dent in sales. If less than 1% of PC owners fall into the data mining is evil belief....well that is even less. Nvidia stock didn't even really fall when the 970 nonsense happened.

I would really much rather have another working SLi profile vs an on/off button for phone home.

Phrase the question in a non-tech way and ask the population on principle how they feel about it. Something like as follows:

"A product manufactured by a company collects data on the user's product usage with no way for the user to opt out. This data is then relayed back to the company. Should this be allowed on market?"

Tell me, do you really think a large majority would say "yes?" I doubt it, but to each their own. If the snowden leaks have shown anything, I think it's that people at least care about their privacy, they just have absolutely no idea what it means. It needs to be more transparent so they do. That's what they want. What you are seeing when people freak out about being "hacked" is the symptom of that. They want understanding. Hiding non-revocable telemetry in EULAs is the disease they are protesting, and the cure is options and clear text/transparency. What is happening is not supported by and large by principle. I'm sorry, but it's just not. Even if it won't stop sales, that does not make it right and in an ideal world manufactures should take note.

Again, in an ideal world. One thing I know is that's not where we live, sadly.

 

[cdawall]

Phrase the question in a non-tech way and ask the population on principle how they feel about it. Something like as follows:

"A product manufactured by a company collects data on the user's product usage with no way for the user to opt out. Should this be allowed on market?"

Tell me, do you really think a large majority would say "yes?" I doubt it, but to each their own. If the snowden leaks have shown anything, I think it's that people at least care about their privacy, they just have absolutely no idea what it means. It needs to be more transparent so they do. That's what they want. What you are seeing when people freak out about being "hacked" is the symptom of that. They want understanding. Hiding non-revocable telemetry in EULAs is the disease they are protesting, and it is not supported by and large by principle. I'm sorry, but it's just not. Even if it won't stop sales, that does not make it right and in an ideal world manufactures should take note.

Again, in an ideal world. One thing I know is that's not where we live, sadly.

I agree. The dirty part is that NV is already making a fortune on their cards already, I can't imagine what some targeted ads adds to it.

More so than intel even.

People as a whole like the thought of privacy, but they post from google phones, on google chrome and then jump on FB/Instagram sharing their entire life stories to the populous. I think people "want" privacy, but like you said have literally no clue what that means or entails. Information age is what they call what we live in yet here we are and people seem to know nothing about the things they purchase, nor do they care to learn.

 

[R-T-B]

People as a whole like the thought of privacy, but they post from google phones, on google chrome and then jump on FB/Instagram sharing their entire life stories to the populous. I think people "want" privacy, but like you said have literally no clue what that means or entails.

Oh that's absolutely true, but this is something I see as a symptom of lack of transparency on the parts of google and the like, not for lack of people wanting to know. It's just so utterly-mindboggling to figure out what's going where, most have given up.

I resist these types of things on principle. No, it probably doesn't effect me in the least, but until they have a toggle switch (which if it was for diagnostics, I'd probably turn it on by the way, I always submit "system reports" that ask permission) I kill everything related to it any way I can. For me, it's a moral issue, and part of why I see it as such is I see the vast confusion around me on a daily basis, and it bothers me. Like I sad, I see the same thing you see, but I've responded to it quite differently.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

How can a personal opinion be wrong? And yes, I do still consider none opt-outable system spec collection a minor sin in again, a world with much much worse going on.

I think I must be misunderstanding you somehow.

Hold off there, you were claiming they were selling personal info, as if it were fact, not opinion.

1. Sys spec is NOT the same as personal info. It is mere hardware spec not tied at all to any identifiable info about one's self. Personal info can be used against you, hardware spec can't.

It's not really about opinions anymore when you lay false claims, it's purely about fact vs fiction. I think you're misunderstanding not just me, but yourself.

The worst thing about this thread is it's not just misleading, it's contagious. People are spreading the paranoia bug here. Any component app that does any kind of auto tuning needs to know what hardware you're running. That includes ones like EVGA Precision.

The net is rife with A-Holes that take advantage, yes, but this is far from identity theft or even snooping. It's merely for product support purposes. The net is also rife with the paranoid. It's why activist news sites thrive. You get people scared (and many easily are) and they'll believe anything.

 

[R-T-B]

Hold off there, you were claiming they were selling personal info, as if it were fact, not opinion.

I claimed it as a theoretical if we are referring to recent discussion (personal info CAN be stolen from memory dumps). In the earlier discussion, much was in the air, but I made a correction when I learned what was going on properly and apologized to all involved. That's all any responsible man can do, and isn't dishonest in the least.

I've also made references to my personal opinions on data selling in general, perhaps that's where you get confused. NVIDIA is not directly selling this data to my knowledge, they are using it more likely for their own internal marketing.

Any component app that does any kind of auto tuning needs to know what hardware you're running.

True, but it doesn't need to send it home.

I think you're misunderstanding not just me, but yourself.

Nope. My opinion has been consistent throughout.

It's not really about opinions anymore when you lay false claims, it's purely about fact vs fiction.

I agree, however the various facts and rumors we have had at our disposal have changed massively. I made corrections when I could, almost half a year ago I might add. Nothing I've said recently has been untrue.

I'm still against even the present practice, though it's probably about a drop in the bucket of my concerns right now.

To be clear, I'm advocating TRANSPARENCY. Not fear mongering. And I don't count hiding this in a eula as transparency. Plain english options and explanations would be a start.

It's why activist news sites thrive. You get people scared (and many easily are) and they'll believe anything.

The term for that is not "activist news sites" but "clickbait" and I try to avoid it as much as humanly possible. That's actually a personal vendetta of mine, as I'm part of a social group that's actually been greatly wounded by fear-mongering of that type, but that's OT for now or even this forum.

 

[Xzibit]

If this happened, I would write down their caller ID number and give it to the department of scammers in Nigeria.

Hopefully that Nigerian Prince will finally get his transfer

 

[R-T-B]

Hopefully that Nigerian Prince will finally get his transfer

Offtopic, but I wonder how hard it is to do business as a legit businessman in Nigeria? I pity that poor soul.

 

[DRDNA]

Evil or not, right or wrong, spying or not spying I have shut down all of Nvidia Telemetry and all of Microsoft Telemetry and have gone out of my way to not use Google Chrome on my Systems and i really don't care if I'm not in the in with helping fix their software and hardware issue as I'm not paid too and I didn't buy my hardware for them to use as their lab for improvements. My systems and I run my show with out being spied on to the best of my ability. Thank you for the ear ' Nvidia I do all by hand and I like SDAntiBeacon-1.6 for Windows 10 Telemetry. https://www.safer-networking.org/spybot-anti-beacon/

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Nope. My opinion has been consistent throughout.

Seriously? Did you not just admit above that you had to make corrections and apologies due to errant assumptions? And now you just keep going on this personal info diatribe as if you'd never done it. That makes it look as if you think they are guilty of doing worse than typical hardware monitoring like AMD, EVGA, and just about any other manufacturer attempting to make hardware tuning and monitoring more viable for mainstream consumers.

All I see you doing here is dodging and speculating, then imagining some break down in communication on our part. It's ludicrous quite honestly.

And no, I was actually TALKING about politically aggressive activist news sites. I know the subjects are different than tech sites, but it's the methods I'm talking about. Watering it down to the term click bait doesn't tell the whole story. Click bait can be anything from product enticement to social media lures, to controversy (what you call fear mongering).

Activist news sites mostly prey on people's sense of rights, and that is what's happening here.

 

[lgordon225]

Sounds like it isn't the drivers, but geforce experience.

i agree it. Today i disabled it

 

[RCoon]

What I don't get is why do people care if google/m$ know you purchased whatever or watched whatever. It doesn't hurt you in anyway. Most of the time it doesn't affect anyone in anyway.

In that case please remove the curtains from all your windows, and leave your house and car unlocked. You don't need privacy. You've got nothing to hide, so it won't affect you in any way.

I'd love to know when you turn your PC on and what your daily routine of computer usage is, and your exact address and location so I know when you're in. Don't worry, not gonna do anything sinister with that information. You trust a multi million dollar business with no moral fiber with your information, so why not trust me?

(A lack of care about privacy on your part does not constitute a lack of care on mine. These things should always be opt in. If someone wants to hand someone else information, they can choose to do so, not give up their rights to privacy by default)

 

[Ahhzz]

In that case please remove the curtains from all your windows, and leave your house and car unlocked. You don't need privacy. You've got nothing to hide, so it won't affect you in any way.

I'd love to know when you turn your PC on and what your daily routine of computer usage is, and your exact address and location so I know when you're in. Don't worry, not gonna do anything sinister with that information. You trust a multi million dollar business with no moral fiber with your information, so why not trust me?

(A lack of care about privacy on your part does not constitute a lack of care on mine. These things should always be opt in. If someone wants to hand someone else information, they can choose to do so, not give up their rights to privacy by default)

A little extreme, but the end conclusion is sound. Everyone has something to hide, and a right to privacy. Just because you're not currently doing something wrong doesn't mean it's anyone's business to see what you're doing now, before, or later.