August 9, 2026
Delete button meets tinfoil hat
Deletes all instances of Microsoft's GDID and prevents minting of new ones
Windows users cheer, panic, and roast a tool that tries to erase Microsoft’s device tag
TLDR: A new Windows script says it can delete and block Microsoft’s hidden device ID on some personal PCs, raising fresh questions about how much your computer reports home. Commenters are split between calling it a vital privacy tool, a pointless gesture, and an unreadable wall of robot-speak.
A new GitHub tool is making privacy-minded Windows users feel like they’ve found a lock for a door they didn’t even know existed. The project claims it can wipe out Microsoft’s hidden device identifier — basically a machine tag Windows can quietly get from Microsoft’s servers — and keep new ones from being created. The creator is careful not to promise some magical anti-tracking force field, but that didn’t stop the comments from turning into a full-on privacy panic meets nerd fight night.
The biggest split? One camp went straight to surveillance alarm bells, pointing to a court case mentioned in the project that tied the identifier to web activity, time, and IP address. One commenter flatly said that sounds like a GDPR nightmare. The other camp rolled its eyes hard, arguing this is just one tracking method among many and that anyone dreaming of disappearing online is kidding themselves. In other words: is this an important shield, or just privacy cosplay?
Then came the technical side-eye. One user warned that Windows has special Microsoft web addresses that can ignore the normal block list, basically asking, “Cute tool, but does Windows just walk around it?” And the funniest reaction by far was the person who got completely lost in the project’s ultra-serious wording, calling it “LLMese” after tripping over phrases like “mutation path” and “real-shaped PUID.” The result: half the crowd is worried, half is skeptical, and everyone agrees the writing sounds like a robot lawyer trying to cast a spell.
Key Points
- •The degdid repository documents Microsoft GDID lifecycle behavior and includes a PowerShell script designed to remove known local GDID state and block new GDID minting through DeviceAdd.
- •GDID is described as a server-assigned 64-bit Device PUID that Windows can obtain even when the user is using only a local account.
- •The script targets unmanaged personal Windows systems with one loaded human profile, specifically Windows 10 22H2/build 19045 and Windows 11 build 22000 or newer, with strongest validation on Windows 11 25H2/build 26200.
- •The `Protect` workflow applies hosts and firewall-based controls, clears known GDID copies and rehydrate sources, and verifies that the DeviceAdd gate remains blocked before reporting success.
- •The article says `ProtectedNoRealGdid` only means no real GDID remains in known local inventory and the DeviceAdd gate is verified; it does not imply deletion of historical records or blocking of unrelated telemetry.