Volunteer research participation

Help us observe how Windows uses GDID on real computers.

Source Potato is building GDID Usage Discovery to identify meaningful local use or transmission of Windows Global Device ID and related PUID representations. A broader set of ordinary, business, repair, and laboratory computers can show whether the behavior differs across accounts, Windows versions, hardware, regions, and everyday workloads.

This is an application to participate—not an automatic download or enrollment. We review requests before providing the current research build.

Read the full research Go to the application

Before you apply

What participation means

Administrator access

The watcher asks for Windows administrator approval because its ETW and system observation require elevated access.

Local or contributing

You may test locally. If reporting is offered and you enable it, only new qualifying incidents from that point forward are submitted.

Complete evidence

A submitted incident may contain sensitive information when that information is part of the observed GDID-bearing activity or its immediate attribution context.

Participant visibility and control

Contributing installations receive private access to review and download everything they submit. Participants can remove an individual incident, erase all submitted incidents, stop future reporting, and separately delete their access credential.

Authorized Source Potato researchers can inspect complete submitted evidence. Public findings will use redacted, aggregated, or otherwise de-identified material. No internet-connected research service can promise zero risk, so participation and reporting remain voluntary.

Request a research build

Participation application

We ask only for information needed to select, contact, and support useful test environments.

Name or preferred name * Email address * Country * Do you currently use Windows? * Windows version * Your technical experience * How many Windows PCs do you expect to test? * Who controls these computers? * Typical Windows account type * Would you consider contributing incidents? * Can the watcher run for days or weeks? *

Anything useful about your environment or interest?

I own these computers or have explicit authorization to monitor them. I understand that submitted GDID incidents may include sensitive evidence and will be visible to authorized Source Potato researchers. Source Potato may contact me by email about this research request.