Full Writeup of the Windows GDID
typeofhuman
60 points
28 comments
July 06, 2026
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Discussion Highlights (10 comments)
rrix2
one thing this doesn't touch on that I am curious about is how was browsing history, etc, correlated to the GDID?
ggerules
Wasn't this the GUID (Globally Unique Identifier) of early 00s Windows? When did it change to GDID? Are they the same?
xyst
this is why Microsoft is pushing so hard for Microsoft accounts at install
stackghost
For those like me who were not abreast of this issue: the FBI was able to arrest some kid who hacked/is alleged to have hacked a jewellery retailer through a VPN. They were able to track the hacker via the user's GDID, which is a stable identifier unaffected by VPN usage. This surveillance is certainly going to expand in scope as age verification comes into widespread usage. Personally I see little legitimate use case for this telemetry. It seems only useful for the purposes of tracking users for law enforcement or targeted advertising purposes.
hyperrail
How a Windows device's global ID is generated may be new info in the public sphere, but the fact that the global ID exists is not a secret. This format of device ID has been in Windows since the initial release of Windows 10 in 2015, when it was introduced as part of Windows' current telemetry subsystem. To see your device's global ID, open Windows Feedback Hub, then go to Feedback Hub Settings and look under Device Information.
gigel82
> The court record itself says a reinstall produces a new GDID That's a half truth if I ever saw one. Telemetry also includes the hardware hash (which does use SMBIOS serial number, CPUID, TPM identifiers, etc.) and that one survives OS reinstalls and even hardware swaps. It is the underlying id used for things like Autopilot (the equivalent to Apple's remote MDM lock).
nullbio
Can promise you a re-install does nothing for your privacy. Plenty of IDs are embedded in the hardware.
ChrisArchitect
Related background: Windows telemetry used to track web activity, link VPN activity to source IP https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48807767 U.S. v. Stokes https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/media/1450651/dl
pogue
So can you change/spoof your GDID easily?
rks404
is there a mac equivalent to the windows GDID?