EFF welcomes Microsoft’s changes to privacy collection policies

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Published onJanuary 13, 2017

published onJanuary 13, 2017

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Earlier this week, Microsoft announced arecommitment to users’ privacy with the upcoming Windows 10 Creators update: when it will bereleased in April, users will discover a new set of privacy settings, with only two levels of automatic data collection. According to Microsoft, the company has reduced the data collected at the “Basic” level to focus on “data that is vital to the operation of Windows.”

While Microsoft still won’t allow Windows 10 Home and Pro users to completely disable telemetry, these changes have been praised by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), which previously criticized Microsoft for “blatantly disregarding user choice and privacy” in anAugust editorial. In an interview withComputerworld, Maul Kalia, EFF legal intake coordinator explained that “these are solid and welcome steps.” He added:

More transparency is what we want from the company. I’m glad they took some of our suggestions to heart, and we’re happy that they did that, but we’d prefer them to be more transparent with users about what is collected and why.

It’s true that Microsoft may still have work to do to convince users that refused to upgrade to Windows 10 that the new operating system is not spying on its users. In its latest blog post, Microsoft claimed that the purpose of telemetry is to “help keep Windows and apps secure, up-to-date, and running properly when you let Microsoft know the capabilities of your device,” but the company still declined to reveal exactly what kind of data it collects.

However, the company clearly reiterated that it would never use this data to deliver personalized ads to its users. “Regardless of your data collection choices, we will not use the contents of your email, chat, files, or pictures to target ads to you,” explained the company.

Are you satisfied with Microsoft’s changes to its data collection policies? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget tofollow OnMSFT.com on Twitterfor all the latest Microsoft news and information!

Radu Tyrsina

Radu Tyrsina has been a Windows fan ever since he got his first PC, a Pentium III (a monster at that time).

For most of the kids of his age, the Internet was an amazing way to play and communicate with others, but he was deeply impressed by the flow of information and how easily you can find anything on the web.

Prior to founding Windows Report, this particular curiosity about digital content enabled him to grow a number of sites that helped hundreds of millions reach faster the answer they’re looking for.

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Radu Tyrsina

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EFF welcomes Microsoft’s changes to privacy collection policies