this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2026
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My laptop came with Win11, I’ve removed that drive a few months ago and replaced it with Mint.
Does this mean MS has my motherboard, WiFi, other hardware identifiers that would still tie that laptop to their database?
Yup!
Motherboard, CPU, GPU models and serial numbers. Ram size and speed. Those were used during Windows activation as old as windows 95. But likely yes, a full list of every component connected.
Your Android phone collects every WiFi network it has ever seen and sends it to Google, so we should assume Microsoft does the same (Android can locate you without GPS by using your neighbors' WiFi signals as position identifiers, and can triangulate you to a few feet using the relative networks' signal strengths)
Wait, what is the solution then? Genz are not going to settle on 10 yo laptop. They are going to buy new expensive AI-ready windows machine, replacing with Linux will do nothing privacywise? The only viable alt is to buy some obscure Linux laptop or old device? How old should it be anyway?
Oh, so to clear up confusion - switching to Linux destroys the local storage of the GDID, and Linux has generally much better privacy (to the degree the OS is involved - browser privacy is a related subject). However, it doesn't undo the past - if you previously signed in with your MS account on that system, Microsoft will have that record in perpetuity.
Best solution would be to wipe any system you acquire without ever signing in to Microsoft. While switching to Linux will not change any of the components serial numbers that Microsoft has, you will at least not be actively associating most of your web activity with your M$ account.
Tangent - if you're gonna do shady stuff, use VMs or TailsOS.