Former Microsoft Employee Claims Microsoft Doesn't Care About Pirated Windows 11 Usage Because You Are the Product

It's well-known that Microsoft's copyright protection mechanisms for its consumer operating systems are relatively weak. While film and television copyright organizations often pursue pirates with complaints, Microsoft has shown a high tolerance for unauthorized KMS servers and activation tools found online.

The reason, as many understand, is that Microsoft doesn't really care about the revenue from individual consumer product purchases. Instead, Microsoft's main revenue from Windows 11 comes from OEM licenses, which are the fees paid by computer manufacturers for pre-installing Windows on their devices.

This was also why former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer believed that Satya Nadella should not abandon the Windows NT system. Although its revenue growth was low, it remained a highly stable source of income.

Another perspective shared by a former Microsoft employee, @BarnaCules, is that Microsoft doesn't care if you're using a legitimate version of Windows 11; what matters to them is that you're using Windows 11 at all. If you use it, then you are the product.

This viewpoint stems from the fact that Windows 10/11 includes a significant amount of advertising, with core ecosystem components like the Microsoft Edge browser, Bing search, OneDrive (tied to Microsoft 365), and Copilot.

For Microsoft, as long as you're using Windows 10/11, there's a way to generate revenue, especially from Microsoft 365 and Copilot, which are already or are set to be major sources of growth for the company.

@BarnaCules also mentioned that as long as pirated activation methods do not prevent Microsoft from deploying updates to machines or disable the company's ability to collect telemetry data from machines, Microsoft wouldn't care about the method of activation used by users.

However, it's important to remind everyone that using pirated software is illegal in some countries/regions. Additionally, seeking activation tools online could also expose you to viruses, as many of these tools found online come with various unwanted extras.