Microsoft tries to quell user anger over its nosy OS
From the time it launched, Windows 10 has been the source of controversy over its aggressive monitoring of user activity, and I readily admit to fanning those flames at the start. A cottage industry of utilities has sprung up that will turn off all of the offending features in one fell swoop, which has quieted a lot of people, me included.
With the release of the Windows 10 Creators Update, Microsoft has made a major change in the nature of its data collection in the OS and has revealed a great deal of information on the telemetry that it gathers from your system. It is documented in a lengthy blog post by Windows chief Terry Myerson.
“For the first time, we have published a complete list of the diagnostic data collected at the Basic level,” he wrote. “Individual data points that relate to a specific item or event are collected together and called Events. These are further organized into diagnostic areas. We are also providing a detailed summary of the data we collect from users at both Basic and Full levels of diagnostics.”
It’s worth noting that Microsoft is providing full details of its Basic data collection but not Full telemetry mode. Here, it offers only a summary:
Aside from sharing new information to inform your choices, our teams have also worked diligently since the Anniversary Update to re-assess what data is strictly necessary at the Basic level to keep Windows 10 devices up to date and secure. We looked closely at how we use this diagnostic data and strengthened our commitment to minimize data collection at the Basic level. As a result, we have reduced the number of events collected and reduced, by about half, the volume of data we collect at the Basic level.
Myerson said everyone will have the opportunity to review their privacy settings with clearer explanations to inform each choice made by the user via a “Learn More” button.
Creators Update privacy settings
Windows 10 users who upgrade to the Creators Update will be presented with an in-depth screen showing all of the new privacy settings. You can’t skip them, either. In doing the update, I found every setting toggled to “On,” but you can click them off if you wish. When you toggle between on and off, the explanations for those settings change to reflect the implications of the user’s choice for yes and no.
Windows 10 Mobile users who upgrade will see a similar set of options, except the “Tailored experiences with diagnostic data” setting is automatically turned off for all customers “and is not presented as an option on the privacy screen due to limitations of the mobile platform,” Myerson wrote.
Microsoft plans to reveal further details on Windows 10’s compliance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and how using Windows 10 and other Microsoft products will help enterprise customers with compliance in their environments.
