02-16-2016 , 09:04 PM
Redmond sets things straight in a long saga
Microsoft has finally put an end to a several-week-long privacy saga started following a third-party investigation claiming that Windows 10 sends tons of information from our computers to the company even when telemetry settings are off.
Reports that were published soon after this investigation argued that Microsoft might actually update Windows 10’s telemetry settings in order to allow users to switch them off completely, thus making sure that absolutely no information leaves their computer.
But in a statement released recently, Redmond clearly says that there’s nothing new to share beyond the September post when Terry Myerson, head of the OS group at Microsoft, explained that users have control over their privacy settings, but certain information still needs to be collected.
Only critical information collected, no personal details
This includes app crash data and OS reports that are absolutely needed in order to improve the operating system and fix issues that might exist on a number of computers. Myerson guaranteed that absolutely no personal information is collected from Windows 10 devices, and all details are encrypted and stored on secure servers.
“We collect a limited amount of information to help us provide a secure and reliable experience. This includes data like an anonymous device ID, device type, and application crash data which Microsoft and our developer partners use to continuously improve application reliability. This doesn’t include any of your content or files, and we take several steps to avoid collecting any information that directly identifies you, such as your name, email address or account ID,” Myerson added.
As a result, Microsoft has no intention of tweaking Windows 10 telemetry settings any further, and it actually makes sense. The company needs some data to improve the operating system and correct the problems that many might be experience. This is actually the only way to make sure that it receives information on bugs and performance issues, as giving users the option to opt out of this behavior might actually dramatically reduce the amount of crash reports the company gets.
Source
Microsoft has finally put an end to a several-week-long privacy saga started following a third-party investigation claiming that Windows 10 sends tons of information from our computers to the company even when telemetry settings are off.
Reports that were published soon after this investigation argued that Microsoft might actually update Windows 10’s telemetry settings in order to allow users to switch them off completely, thus making sure that absolutely no information leaves their computer.
But in a statement released recently, Redmond clearly says that there’s nothing new to share beyond the September post when Terry Myerson, head of the OS group at Microsoft, explained that users have control over their privacy settings, but certain information still needs to be collected.
Only critical information collected, no personal details
This includes app crash data and OS reports that are absolutely needed in order to improve the operating system and fix issues that might exist on a number of computers. Myerson guaranteed that absolutely no personal information is collected from Windows 10 devices, and all details are encrypted and stored on secure servers.
“We collect a limited amount of information to help us provide a secure and reliable experience. This includes data like an anonymous device ID, device type, and application crash data which Microsoft and our developer partners use to continuously improve application reliability. This doesn’t include any of your content or files, and we take several steps to avoid collecting any information that directly identifies you, such as your name, email address or account ID,” Myerson added.
As a result, Microsoft has no intention of tweaking Windows 10 telemetry settings any further, and it actually makes sense. The company needs some data to improve the operating system and correct the problems that many might be experience. This is actually the only way to make sure that it receives information on bugs and performance issues, as giving users the option to opt out of this behavior might actually dramatically reduce the amount of crash reports the company gets.
Source