Telemetry services in Windows 10 have been a highly controversial issue from the start, as many consider it part of Microsoft's campaign to spy on its users.
Although Microsoft explains that no personal information was collected and that telemetry services received diagnostic and error data to improve the operating system, there were concerns that the company had access to far more details than it should have.
The company, however, tried to address all these concerns with Windows 10 updates that specifically focus on enhancing security and providing users with greater control over their data.
The Redstone 4 update , also called the Spring Creators Update or version 1803, is a significant step in this direction because it introduces two new options that allow users to view the data Microsoft collects from their systems and easily delete it.
With the Windows 10 Spring Creators Update that is released next month, it is important to be ready for these features and to know exactly how to use them, especially if you are concerned that Microsoft may collect too much information from your system.
First of all, it's important to know where to find these options. Microsoft has improved the Settings to provide a simpler experience, so that Diagnostic Data View and opt-out options can be found by following this path: Settings > Privacy > Diagnostic & feedback.
The viewer allows you to see five types of data (likely to be added in future Windows 10 updates), as follows:
- Common data, such as operating system name, version, device ID, device class, and so on.
- Device connectivity and configuration, such as device properties and capabilities, preferences and settings, and device network information.
- performance data showing data about device health, performance and reliability, device movie consumption functionality. It is important to note that this feature is not intended to capture user viewing or listening habits.
- usage data includes details about your use of the device, operating system, applications, and services.
- Software installation and inventory, such as installed applications and installation history, device update information.
If you want to delete the data collected, you can do so very easily. Follow the path: Settings > Privacy > Diagnostic & feedback and in the Delete diagnostic data section, simply click the Delete button and you're done. Once the data has been removed, a small notification will be created showing the date on which the last deletion request was made.
However, what is important to know is that even if you delete the data from the device using the steps above, if you have Microsoft account to authenticate to a Windows 10 system, it may contain additional diagnostic data and the only way to get rid of it is to log into your account settings and remove it manually.
