Microsoft Pushes Back On Windows 10 Privacy Concerns

Ever since the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft has come under fire about the privacy implications of the OS. If you head to any forum and mention Windows 10, there will be critics who raise the concern that Microsoft is stealing your information and selling it to outside parties. The volume of this concern is loud enough that Microsoft has responded today with a blog post.

The post says that Microsoft has two basic principles in mind when it comes to privacy: Windows 10 collects information so the product will work better for you and that you are in control with the ability to determine what information is collected. Further, that all information transmitted to its servers is encrypted and stored in a secure facility as well.

Of they data they do collect, the company says it includes anonymous device ID, device type, and application crash data which Microsoft and its partners use to improve the user experience. Microsoft specifically says that they do not collect information such as content or files and they take proactive steps to avoid collecting information such as your name, email address or account ID.

When it comes to personalization, the entire process is opt-in, including Cortana. At any time, you can change your personalization and privacy options in the settings menu of Windows 10.

And as the company has stated before, Windows 10 nor any other Microsoft software scans the content of your email or other communications, or your files, in order to deliver targeted advertising to you.

The privacy issue is one that Microsoft does need to take control of as it will not be going away anytime soon. It took the company two months after release to try and calm the concerns of consumers and while the OS is doing well, it could certainly do without the baggage this issue has brought about.

The goal of this post is to hopefully quiet the critics who are continuously speaking out against the OS. Will it be enough? Only time will tell but even if the critics do persist, with over 100 million installs of the OS, it’s clear that the average consumer is not too perturbed by the issue.

You can read the entire blog post, written by Terry Myerson, here.