Dive Brief:

• Microsoft announced it will no longer force Windows upgrades on customers, according to Beta News.

• The company made the announcement following an ongoing legal battle with Germany's Baden-Würtenberg consumer rights center, according to the report. The organization claims Microsoft forcibly downloaded gigabytes of files to upgrade users from Windows 7 and 8 to Windows 10 without consent.

• The way Microsoft enacts updates changed with the Creators Update. Windows 10 users can now schedule times when they would like to install updates. They can also choose to "snooze" an update for three days if necessary. Along with the Creators Update changes, "active hours" for devices were tweaked to make sure Windows 10 does not update while the device is in use.   

Dive Insight:

When Windows 10 was released in 2015, Microsoft was aggressive about getting devices to upgrade. In some instances, it pushed several gigabytes of upgrade files to customers without their knowledge or consent. Consumer backlash caused the company to stop the practice, but two years later, Microsoft is still facing legal repercussions. While the company claims the tactics were in customers' best interests, the company's forced upgrades turned into a PR mess for Microsoft.

Last year three Florida men also filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, stating that the company "coerced" them into the upgrade which resulted in damaged PCs, as well as lost time and money. Some customers even complained that a red X option that appears in the Windows 10 update box actually initiates an upgrade, rather than dismissing it as users would commonly expect.

Microsoft has since backed down from some of its more aggressive tactics, and now offers customers options, including "upgrade now, schedule a time to upgrade, or decline the free offer for the new OS."