Even with the new changes to protect our privacy, Microsoft still doesn't completely leave the end user with the option to opt-out of data collection in Windows 10.
The company announced Wednesday that it has completely overhauled some of its privacy practices regarding the amount of data collected by Windows 10, as well as the data sent to the company.
The company announced the changes, initially saying “after your feedback,” via Windows development lead Terry Myerson in a blog post. Myerson said the upcoming changes to Windows 10 will include new privacy controls and settings that will “help ensure you’re in control of your privacy.”
The changes include a “new Microsoft privacy dashboard on the web that lets you easily view and manage your data activity.”
Since the operating system's release, Microsoft has been embroiled in an ongoing controversy over how much Windows 10 data travels to the company's headquarters.
The launch of Windows 10 was marred by accusations that the software tricked users into believing that telemetry and other data-collection technologies are necessary to support various Windows features. Installing it turns on almost every data-collection feature, location, search history, and more, which are transmitted to the company's servers.
Swiss privacy regulators were among the first to complain about Microsoft's data collection techniques.
France's data protection watchdog, CNIL, said it was also impressed by Microsoft's actions, but also asked the company to fix its privacy settings.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) said in a brief tweet that it was awaiting “more details,” but called the changes “important and welcome.”
Myerson wrote on his blog that the settings screen will now contain two options, full and basic data collection, but neither of these settings offers a complete opt-out.
In other words, there is no “off” yet, there is an “almost off.”
The company hasn't really told us what exactly it collects as part of its basic level of protection, other than that the data is used to improve its software and services.
Microsoft is essentially asking users of its operating system to trust it. And while the likelihood that the company won't do anything with the user information it collects is small and perhaps unlikely, let's say we ultimately trust the company. But everything could be turned upside down if Microsoft receives an order from a government agency or even if the data is stolen by clever hackers.
So while the change in our privacy controls seems to be in the right direction, we still have a long way to go.
By ignoring its customers' biggest privacy complaint by offering a setting that allows data collection to be completely disabled, Microsoft appears to have once again found an approach to appease regulators.
And life goes on..
