Does Visual Studio upload code to MSFT?

kmiklas · May 13, 2020

I'm working on a confidential C++ project on Windows, using Visual Studio Community 2019.

I'm wondering if MSFT uploads Solutions, Projects, and source code to their servers.

Anyone know? Is there any guarantee of privacy with Visual Studio, or is it possible that the blood, sweat, and tears that I put into tuning my profit-taking classes will be happily (and freely) added to Microsoft's servers?

The license states the following. Is the actual source code included in the "information about you and your use of the software?"

Microsoft said:
Data Collection. The software may collect information about you and your use of the software, and send that to Microsoft. Microsoft may use this information to provide services and improve our products and services. You may opt-out of many of these scenarios, but not all, as described in the software documentation. There are also some features in the software that may enable you and Microsoft to collect data from users of your applications. If you use these features, you must comply with applicable law, including providing appropriate notices to users of your applications together with Microsoft’s privacy statement. Our privacy statement is located at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=824704. You can learn more about data collection and its use from the software documentation and our privacy statement. Your use of the software operates as your consent to these practices.

https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/license-terms/mlt031819/

southall · May 13, 2020

kmiklas said:
Anyone know? Is there any guarantee of privacy with Visual Studio, or is it possible that the blood, sweat, and tears that I put into tuning my profit-taking classes will be happily (and freely) added to Microsoft's servers?

Unless you are James Simons, otherwise no one cares about your code, you can even post it on the internet. No one would take it seriously.

xandman · May 13, 2020

I'm guessing they will be parsing machine level logging when you do any operation into their Cosmo database like Splunk does.

Even if your app created it's own logs, the file name and location is only known to you.

At worst, if you are a known competitor, they may steal your stuff. I don't think anyone wants to see our nested For loops and ambiguously defined variables.

Overnight · May 13, 2020

kmiklas said:
I'm working on a confidential C++ project on Windows, using Visual Studio Community 2019.

I'm wondering if MSFT uploads Solutions, Projects, and source code to their servers.

Anyone know? Is there any guarantee of privacy with Visual Studio, or is it possible that the blood, sweat, and tears that I put into tuning my profit-taking classes will be happily (and freely) added to Microsoft's servers?

The license states the following. Is the actual source code included in the "information about you and your use of the software?"

https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/license-terms/mlt031819/

Do you have to be connected to the interwebs to work on your project? If not, just disconnect your internet while working on your project. Do it on a stand-alone laptop or something. Problem solved.

guru · May 13, 2020

They don't, unless you choose to host your code online for a team to share, like on GitHub.

David's faith · May 13, 2020

they even track your entire keyboard entries and you agree with it in the TOU

ph1l · May 13, 2020

kmiklas said:
I'm working on a confidential C++ project on Windows, using Visual Studio Community 2019.

I'm wondering if MSFT uploads Solutions, Projects, and source code to their servers.

If you are worried about Visual Studio sending data to Microsoft, you can use a firewall to block outbound access from the processes
Microsoft.VsHub.Server.HttpHost.exe
VsHub.exe
devenv.exe

tsznecki · May 14, 2020

@kmiklas Hold on Keith, aren't you a software developer?

How do you not know what VS does or doesn't do?

hyom · May 16, 2020

kmiklas said:
I'm working on a confidential C++ project on Windows, using Visual Studio Community 2019.

I'm wondering if MSFT uploads Solutions, Projects, and source code to their servers.

Anyone know? Is there any guarantee of privacy with Visual Studio, or is it possible that the blood, sweat, and tears that I put into tuning my profit-taking classes will be happily (and freely) added to Microsoft's servers?

The license states the following. Is the actual source code included in the "information about you and your use of the software?"

https://visualstudio.microsoft.com/license-terms/mlt031819/

If you're really worried about that, then use an open-source IDE like Visual Studio Code. If there's rogue code inside that steals your private data, the open-source community will probably spot it. If you are still worried, you can read the code yourself to make sure there's no rogue code inside.

I won't spend time doing that. I think it's a pure waste of time because I am not that important to be worth someone's time/effort to steal my work. Probably, even if I were to upload my "secrets" to Github, no one else would care to take a second look.

kmiklas · May 16, 2020

tsznecki said:
@kmiklas Hold on Keith, aren't you a software developer?

How do you not know what VS does or doesn't do?

I was thinking of a surreptitious upload, like how all your communications are logged by your ISP [Ref 1]

Afaik, the source code for Visual Studio is proprietary, so I can't see if my profitable algos are getting encrypted and uploaded to the Mother Ship. I suppose I could sniff the network to check... but it wouldn't be easy.

If so, a quick payoff to M$ on the golf course, and a 3rd party has my algo that averages 20%.

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)