Let's go again: Not long ago, Microsoft announced that it would stop collecting so much telemetry data in Windows 10. Believe it or not. But what about the company's older operating systems?
Microsoft has reportedly re-released two updates that add telemetry to Windows 7 (KB2952664) and Windows 8.1 (KB2976978) systems.
The updates have been released in the past, so Windows 7 and 8.1 users are familiar with them. As we mentioned in a warning article in October 2016 , these updates come as optional patches, meaning they won't be installed unless you really want them to.
So if you are one of those who did not install them in 2016, and hid them from Windows Update, you will notice that they have reappeared in the Windows updates panel you are using, due to the re-release.
The question of course is why Microsoft is choosing to re-release telemetry updates to two systems that are not in development, and even intends to withdraw them?
According to the company, it uses the telemetry data it collects from Windows 10 to develop a better operating system.
The updates that were used to enable data collection from Windows 7 are again marked as “important” for Windows 7 PCs, and appear as recommended by Windows Update.
To hide a Windows update, right-click on the Windows Update window and select “hide update” from the menu. If it is not re-released, it will no longer appear on your machine and thus will never be installed.
Both “Windows Update Compatibility Updates” are offered through Windows Update and the Microsoft Update Catalog.
It's worth mentioning that we don't know much about what updates KB2952664 and KB2976978 actually do. They appear to add a new feature called DoScheduledTelemetryRun, but it's unclear what data the company collects, and whether anything else changes to the system when the updates are installed.
