While Microsoft claims it doesn’t (and potentially doesn’t even have the resources to) look at individual data, if you don’t feel comfortable, then it might be a good setting to turn off. However, some of this data might contain personal identification as sometimes the entire content of your memory (RAM) is transmitted. This helps them and their partners (such as software or hardware makers) identify and solve the issue. Not comfortable with your voice being transmitted and analysed by MS? Turn it off.ĭiagnostics: Any time your PC crashes, be it Windows itself or an application, data about the crash is sent back to Microsoft. Speech recognition: If you’re using Cortana, this will send back your voice commands to Microsoft in order to improve the service. This might be useful for apps like weather but might also be used by ad providers to understand where you are and serve you ads. Location: Lets Windows 10 apps understand where you are with either the GPS receiver or other factors, such as Wi-Fi etc. While MS has definitely amped up its “phone home” attitude compared to Windows 7 or 8, the OS maker is trying to be transparent about it and has just recently eased off due to regulatory complaints.ĭuring the initial setup of Windows 10, you’re now presented with a high-level overview of what data is collected, where you have a few options to turn on and off a few things: Since we can’t look over the shoulders of the engineers and marketing folks at MS, we have to take them at their word.Īccording to MS documentation, the data isn’t shared with any other companies (with the exception of data from a handful of services like Bing) and is deleted after 30 days ( all the details can be read in their privacy statement). Microsoft claims that the information gathered is used only to improve the development of the operating system and develop new products. This is essentially what is being collected and is what Microsoft calls “ telemetry.” However, there’s another type called “ functional data”, which is data such as your location used by the Weather app. how often you launch or use the applications) and crash information on your devices.Ĭrash data: >Every time Windows or your PC crashes (or if there’s an error), Microsoft collects the necessary information and evaluates it - more on this below. PC usage: Microsoft tracks data such as the type of hardware you use, which applications you have installed, some usage details (e.g. Now before we go into the depths of Windows 10’s hunger for data, let’s look at what gets collected and sent to MS servers and how the Redmond-based software company handles the data. But it’s not exactly going out of its way to tell you exactly what, and especially how much, it collects. Microsoft isn’t hiding the fact that it’s collecting data on you. Overall, this is definitely a good addition to your anti-Windows 10 data collection arsenal, so go download Win10 Spy Disabler to take the app for a spin.If by spying you mean collecting information about you without you knowing…then no. Obviously, the lack of configuration settings, such as the possibility of selecting which services to disable or apps to remove, might not be good news for more advanced users, but it's pretty clear that this is the kind of program supposed to be used by beginners exclusively. Simply called Win10 Spy Disabler, this little app does pretty much the same thing as all the other apps developed to block telemetry services in Windows 10, but as compared to all of them, it includes easier-to-use options that do not force users to get through a complex configuration process.įor example, the app can disable spying services and scheduled tasks, telemetry and data collection, remove default Windows apps, show hidden and system files, disable Office 2016 telemetry, and block Microsoft telemetry hosts.Īt the same time, it also includes some other configuration settings for the operating system, so you can disable recent files and folders history, optimize NTFS partition settings, and ask for confirmation on file deletion. There are many apps that can block Windows 10 from sending any information from your computer to Microsoft, but here's a clear-cut solution that can be easily used by those less experienced too.
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