According to these new numbers from Valve, the Linux customer base is up to 1.96%, or a 0.52% jump over June! That’s a huge jump with normally just moving 0.1% or so in either direction most months… It’s also near an all-time high on a percentage basis going back to the early days of Steam on Linux when it had around a 2% marketshare but at that time the Steam customer size in absolute numbers was much smaller a decade ago than it is now. So if the percentage numbers are accurate, this is likely the largest in absolute terms that the Linux gaming marketshare has ever been.
Data from Valve: https://store.steampowered.com/hwsurvey/Steam-Hardware-Software-Survey-Welcome-to-Steam?platform=combined
Cool article, but it bases most of its claims off Valve’s ToS for steam, their privacy policy, and an old Reddit post that has multiple people disputing its claims in comments. So no actual traffic snooping or any individual research into what the application is actually doing.
Yea they’re definitely going to store purchase-related information (Name, Address, Cc info, etc.), just about every digital storefront does. Where’s the actual danger at?
Would you mind sharing your name and address and cc info? I need these for a scientific research, you can send them in pm if you don’t want to post them here, i promise that i won’t share them with anyone else
I need these for a scientific research,
Lol. So you’re go-to argument for this is false equivalence. Steam is a digital storefront. Vavle can’t process digital payments without that information.
Also, research funding is a very real thing and anyone requiring funding is using an actual payment processor (Stripe, PayPal, Wire/ACH) which is going to require that information anyway.
Do you operate a payment processing company? Where can I find your privacy and compliance policy? Why do I need to send my financial credentials directly to you (an individual)?
Yeah that argument falls apart very quickly when we apply real-world policies to your hamstrung argument.
I’ve bought and play hundreds of games without having to provide a single information.
Great anecdote, but that doesn’t change the fact that any storefront that processes digital purchases and handles currency is going to require payment information and is essentially required to record that info to stay in compliance with federal regulations. At least here in the US where Valve is based. So remind us all what your argument here is?
Most of these stores sell your data to third parties and do that just for profits. Remember that we are on the linux sub. What data was recorded when you bought your linux?
Most of these stores sell your data to third parties and do that just for profits.
Sure. But until you bring some proof that Valve is actually selling my financial data, I’m going to chalk this up to baseless claims. So far, all the proof you’ve provided has been a hysterical article that cites Valve’s own ToS and Privacy Policy and makes claims that Valve is basically operating the exact same way as all other digital storefronts do when consumers make purchases online. It also claimed that Valve is tracking my internet history citing a reddit thread with multiple comments debunking the claim.
What data was recorded when you bought your linux?
That depends. I use actual RHEL quite a bit considering it’s what I’m familiar with and what’s used in my workplace. Before I could setup any of my personal servers that use RHEL9, I had to provide all the exact same information you requested. My laptop is running FreeBSD, which cost me nothing considering it’s not sold in a storefront. Not sure what you’re getting at with this unless this is once again some false equivalence.
Look, I’m all for moving away from Steam if there’s an actual compelling reason to do so. Valve doing illegal shit that no one’s reported is certainly a legitimate reason for me to move off the platform, but neither you nor the only other person in this thread claiming Valve is the literal devil have provided any legitimate reasons not to use the platform. If all it takes is a hysterical article with some bogus claims and bold text for you change how you consume products, I got this huge bridge to sell you.
It’s stated on their privacy agreement that they collect and sell your data. Did you read it all before signing up on steam? On the bogus website you mentioned it is also explained how even “anonymized” data can be point back at you. Any big tech has been doing illegal shit for decates, it’s all over the stories, just go on lemmy frontpage to see same shit gafam do. Steam is the company that promotes gambling to kids, they are no exception in this world.
