14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 10’s data collection continues to be a controversial topic these days, even though Microsoft has clearly specified that no personal information is submitted to the company, but only app crash data and performance reports that could help improve the operating system.
But a recent report has brought the whole discussion back in the spotlight, with part of the media accusing Microsoft of using Windows 10 to collect an important amount of user information.
While that in-depth look at the connections made by Windows 10 to Microsoft’s servers served as no evidence that any user data was collected, pretty much because there was no analysis of the sent packets, and for what it’s worth, those could be apps checking for updates or the weather app getting the forecast, it turns out the company is listening to all complaints.
And according to a new report by Forbes, Microsoft is now promising further tweaks to Windows 10 that would allow users to completely disable telemetry and block the operating system from sending any kind of reports to the company.
App crash data still needed
Before taking this for granted, there’s something very important to note, especially if you're on Windows 10 already and are afraid that Microsoft might be spying on you.
First of all, Microsoft promised pretty much the same thing last September, when Terry Myerson, head of the OSG at the company, said in a blog post that Redmond planned to give users more control over the data that is collected by the operating system.
At that point, Myerson explained that users would get more control over telemetry services in Windows 10, but he recommended against enabling them, as they help the company improve the performance of the operating system and fix crashes that would otherwise be impossible to diagnose.
Today’s report points to pretty much the same promise, so it’s not yet clear if Microsoft is indeed planning to make further tweaks this year or not (read the update at the end of the post for more info). Forbes guarantees that “the statement was clear the context for the updates is 2016,” so if this is true, Windows 10 could get new updates, “which will enable users to fully control all background telemetry and data tracking and, if desired, disable it completely.”
In the end, no matter if the report is accurate or not, Microsoft does need to collect crash reports and app logs whenever something goes wrong because, otherwise, improving Windows 10 would be quite a challenge. And, in the end, it’s coming back to users, as they’ll be the first ones impacted by poor system performance.
Update: another report coming via ZDNet and citing Microsoft sources claims the company does not have any plans to offer such updates in the coming months, leaving the Windows 10 telemetry settings just the way they are. We have also reached out to Microsoft for some clarification and will update the article again when an answer is provided.