Stop turning my Microphone on.

[Red Eagle LXIX]

Dear Valve,
I know you would like to be like Google and Amazon whom listen in on folks. There is a reason I do not have any of those devices in my home. Especially after Amazon was forced to admit to having humans listen in even when the Alexa keyword had not been engaged.

That does not give you the right to constantly re-enable my microphone in an open chat mode. STOP. This illegal intrusion into my privacy will not be accepted.

Isn't it bad enough your spying campaign includes forcing an app that tracks user location, number, call times, etc just to be able to use the marketplace effectively or trade. BANKS and FINANCIAL institutions can perform money transfers, payrolls, and stock trades worth tens of thousands of dollars with simple text messaging; why can't you do that for some simple game stuff?

Please stop trying to expand your spying or at least restrict it to the options configured by the user. I am getting tired of having to change those settings.

Thank you.

[Red Eagle LXIX]

Rens Agatha původně napsal:

go to epic store platform they dont have any spyware there...

I'm already spread thin enough between Steam and GOG (2400+ here and 300+ there). Don't think I could readily keep track of or find the time for games on yet another service.

Just so annoying that every so often since they introduced the new chat software that setting is re-enabled (and only that setting showing it is not a loss of settings; thus purposeful). (BTW - IMO the new chat software stinks compared to the old chat software).

[AmsterdamHeavy]

Umm, what exactly are you on about?

My mic has never once magically "turned on".

Only thing I can think of is the "push to talk" setting reverting. That|?

[wuddih]

please elaborate your issue with screenshots.

[Red Eagle LXIX]

AmsterdamHeavy původně napsal:

Umm, what exactly are you on about?

My mic has never once magically "turned on".

Only thing I can think of is the "push to talk" setting reverting. That|?

Correct. It will on a semi-regular basis turn the input volume gain back to default, re-enable the Open Chat instead of Push to Talk, remove the set Push to talk key combination, reset the voice transmission threshold from high to default of medium, and turn the advanced setting of Automatic volume/gain control back to default of ON. Just those voice settings which allow the microphone to be open to the steam client and allow the Steam client to listen at reasonable levels.
I purposefully chose those non-default settings to make it harder for the Steam client to hear or use my microphone, but Valve insists on setting them to a method that allows them open listening.

wuddih původně napsal:

please elaborate your issue with screenshots.

I doubt you need screenshots. Below I've listed out where each specific setting that changes can be found. It is that small subset of settings that changes on a semi-regular basis (including the setting I put and the defaults Valve uses/sets).

Specifically:
Friends List Settings > Voice > Volume > Input volume/gain (my microphone)
My setting: 0 -- Valve restores their setting: 100 (midbar)

Friends List Settings > Voice > Voice Transmission Type
My setting: Push-to-Talk -- Valve restores their setting: Open Microphone

Friends List Settings > Voice > Voice Transmission Type > Push-to-Talk hotkey
My setting: F10 -- Valve restores their setting: none

Friends List Settings > Voice > Voice Transmission Transmission Threshold
My setting: High -- Valve restores their setting: Medium

Friends List Settings > Voice > Advanced Settings > Automatic volume/gain control
My setting: off -- Valve restores their setting: on

My settings: designed to prevent and make it harder to hear anything.
Valves settings: designed to have the microphone always on and make it easy for things to be heard.

[*P0P$*FR3$H3NM3Y3R*]

Good suggestion. +1

[wuddih]

and just because that happens to you, you think they enforce it as a method to spy on everyone?

first of all Steam doesn't listen to you, the voice settings are for the voice chat, for nothing else. you have to be in a voice chat session for the microphone getting utilized by Steam.
just because the setting is named "open microphone" doesn't mean the microphone is listened to.

and how about:
something on your system or your userbehavior prevents that the settings file for this gets written correctly and it just loads the defaults?

so lets test this:
PEOPLE THAT COME INTO THIS THREAD

CHANGE YOUR VOICE SETTINGS IN STEAM (FRIENDSLIST COGWHEEL)

RESTART STEAM

AND CHECK IF THE SETTINGS STAY

REPORT BACK HERE

THX FOR YOUR COOPERATION

[JD777]

Used to happen to me so I unplugged my mic. I have a alarm that goes off when my mic is on. Most people would not even know this is happening unless they look for it. I know for some this is not a option as they may have a inbuilt mic or some other setup. Can't wait for Physical hardware switches for things like microphones and cameras to be built into things like laptops , smart TV's , cellphones etc.

[Red Eagle LXIX]

wuddih původně napsal:

and just because that happens to you, you think they enforce it as a method to spy on everyone?

first of all Steam doesn't listen to you, the voice settings are for the voice chat, for nothing else. you have to be in a voice chat session for the microphone getting utilized by Steam.
just because the setting is named "open microphone" doesn't mean the microphone is listened to.

and how about:
something on your system or your userbehavior prevents that the settings file for this gets written correctly and it just loads the defaults?

so lets test this:
PEOPLE THAT COME INTO THIS THREAD

CHANGE YOUR VOICE SETTINGS IN STEAM (FRIENDSLIST COGWHEEL)

RESTART STEAM

AND CHECK IF THE SETTINGS STAY

REPORT BACK HERE

THX FOR YOUR COOPERATION

THANKS FOR NOT READING.

It happens every so often they get reset, not every restart of the client. Your 'test' is worthless unless someone leaves the modified settings and monitors them over a period of time (about every couple weeks (might be tied to updates even I have not tracked it that closely))

[Red Eagle LXIX]

JD777 původně napsal:

Used to happen to me so I unplugged my mic. I have a alarm that goes off when my mic is on. Most people would not even know this is happening unless they look for it. I know for some this is not a option as they may have a inbuilt mic or some other setup. Can't wait for Physical hardware switches for things like microphones and cameras to be built into things like laptops , smart TV's , cellphones etc.

I agree, some nice hardware switches would be great.

[Washell]

I used to have a headset where the mic is on a 3.5mm plug. Easily removed and plugged back in when needed. It broke, so these days I use a mic less headset for normal use, and a set of earbuds that came with one of my phones for the rare times I multiplay.

If you care about these things, buy/get the stuff that services your needs. You can't trust the software. There's no hack, bug or spyware that can enable a mic that's not plugged in.

[=[DSG]= Lan Can't Aim]

wuddih původně napsal:

REPORT BACK HERE

THX FOR YOUR COOPERATION

no :)

[76561198407601200]

Seems op has spyware and wants valve to be the blame for it. Myself and anyone I personally know who uses steam, have yet to have the issue op has.

[Satoru]

Red Eagle LXIX původně napsal:

THANKS FOR NOT READING.

It happens every so often they get reset, not every restart of the client. Your 'test' is worthless unless someone leaves the modified settings and monitors them over a period of time (about every couple weeks (might be tied to updates even I have not tracked it that closely))

So functionally you can't actually prove your claim but somehow attribute it to malice for something you can't actually prove

Go it

[Lain2rizzy]

It's like in many beta games right? When they update, they reconfigure everything, they don't just add some files. Idk how that works but it seems common enough in games that don't spy on you so I kinda assumed steam was just a bit broken as usual.

[aiusepsi]

Red Eagle LXIX původně napsal:

It will on a semi-regular basis turn the input volume gain back to default, re-enable the Open Chat instead of Push to Talk, remove the set Push to talk key combination, reset the voice transmission threshold from high to default of medium, and turn the advanced setting of Automatic volume/gain control back to default of ON. Just those voice settings which allow the microphone to be open to the steam client and allow the Steam client to listen at reasonable levels.
I purposefully chose those non-default settings to make it harder for the Steam client to hear or use my microphone, but Valve insists on setting them to a method that allows them open listening.

You appear to be operating under some misapprehensions.

The settings and controls which are provided by a program - any program, not just Steam - can be interpreted by that program any way it likes. They're not cast-iron restrictions on what that program can do, they're just a way of you expressing to the program what your preferences are. The program can happily chose to ignore them. Your settings there aren't to "allow the microphone to be open to the steam client", because the microphone is always open to the Steam client, just like it is to every other program on your computer.

If you actually want to prevent a program from doing something, you have to do it at the OS or hardware level. The security model for this is actually better on mobile platforms (i.e. iOS and Android), mostly because they're newer; when something on a mobile device asks if it can use your mic, it's doing this because it has to; access to the mic is tightly controlled by the OS.

On a desktop platform, if, hypothetically, you were writing software which used the user's mic to spy on them, there's absolutely no reason at all to tip your hand by messing with the user-visible settings.

Anyway, specific to Steam: those voice controls are just to change the behaviour when you're in a Steam voice chat, i.e. they're for controlling when you're transmitting audio to the other people in the voice chat. If you're not currently in a voice chat, those settings do nothing at all.

It just sounds like you're experiencing an irritating bug which is occasionally resetting your preferences, not anything sinister.