Microsoft confirms that Xbox One owners can shut down the system and its sensor

May 29, 2013 09:41 GMT  ·  By

Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox One and its new Kinect sensor can be turned off completely so that owners can have utter privacy.

The Xbox One will be sold with the Kinect sensor as standard and Microsoft confirmed that the peripheral will always listen to what's happening around it, so that it can respond to commands like "Xbox on."

This has sparked some privacy concerns and, despite Microsoft's efforts to highlight ways it's respecting Xbox One owners, the company has now mentioned that the Xbox One and Kinect can be turned off completely.

This state won't consume any power but can't be turned on using voice commands.

"We are designing the new Kinect with simple, easy methods to customize privacy settings, provide clear notifications and meaningful privacy choices for how data will be used, stored and shared," the company told Kotaku.

Microsoft is expected to share plenty of new details about the Xbox One and the new and improved Kinect at E3 2013 next month.