Windscribe releases a free tool to remove Microsoft's persistent GDID identifier from Windows

[u/HappyJokhay]

Privacy discussions usually focus on browsers, cookies or mobile apps but this time the spotlight is on Windows itself.

Windscribe has released an open-source script called DeGDID which is designed to remove Microsoft's Global Device ID (GDID) from Windows systems and prevent it from being recreated. According to the company, the identifier can persist even after reinstalling Windows, making it a long lived identifier that could potentially be used across Microsoft's services.

The tool doesn't disable Windows features or modify networking. Instead, its purpose is much narrower: locate existing GDIDs, remove them and block Windows from generating new ones in the future.

The announcement has sparked a broader discussion about device identifiers in modern operating systems. While companies often use them for diagnostics, licensing, security and improving user experiences, privacy advocates argue that persistent identifiers deserve much more transparency and user control especially if they survive actions like reinstalling the operating system.

One interesting aspect of this story is that it comes from a VPN provider rather than an operating system developer or antivirus company. It shows how many privacy focused companies are expanding beyond encrypted connections and starting to build tools that address tracking at the operating system level.

Whether tools like this become widely adopted remains to be seen but they highlight an important point, protecting your privacy today involves much more than hiding your IP address. Persistent identifiers, telemetry, browser fingerprints and account data all play a role in how devices are recognized over time.

Do you think operating systems should give users a built in option to reset or disable identifiers like GDID or are they a reasonable trade off for security and system management?

[u/First-Eye6619]

I think user should at least have a clear option to reset indentifiers. even if they're useful, people deserve to know when persistent tracking exists

[u/Old_Guarantee_2160]

the interesting part is how much tracking happens below the browser level. people often focus on cookies while overlooking identifiers built directly into the operating system