Windows 10’s most important privacy settings


If you click through the options too hastily during the installation of Windows, you will reveal more information than you probably want. In this article, we’ll cover the most important Windows 10 privacy settings, both during and after the installation process.

Microsoft doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to privacy. A lot of information about you is collected via Windows and also exchanged with the cloud via your Microsoft account. It would mainly be used for quality improvement or improving your product experience, but unfortunately you can’t always rely on your privacy being respected in practice.

Until a few years ago you had Windows 10 barely even control over your data. It was also unclear what was being collected and for what purposes. Fortunately, this has improved. This way you have through the privacy dashboard insight into the data that is collected and you can pull the reins via your privacy preferences in Windows. In this workshop we show you how to do that.

Avoid the default settings

You can already specify some privacy preferences during the installation of Windows. If you blindly choose the default settings, you will only reveal much more than you probably would like. To Microsoft itself, but also to other apps and services that use your account.

With every question you see a button More information. We recommend that you read this so that you know what it may be necessary for. Fortunately, you can still adjust everything after the installation and even in more detail. To do this, open the Windows settings. You can change most preferences via the . section Privacy. In this workshop we often refer to this.

A small warning about privacy preferences is in order. These are of course respected by Windows itself and the apps from the Microsoft Store. But this is not automatically the case for apps and programs that you install outside of this Microsoft Store. For example, they can determine your location independently or communicate directly with your camera and microphone via drivers, even if you have limited that access via the privacy settings.

Disconnecting or switching off the camera or microphone is then the most effective measure. Switching off WiFi and Bluetooth is also possible, for example to prevent location determination, but is of course less practical. So be careful with the applications you use.

Location determination

The first question during installation is whether Microsoft and the apps on your PC are allowed to use your location. Afterwards you can adjust this in more detail via the Windows settings under Privacy / Location. Your location is used, among other things, to automatically set your time zone and show the local weather forecast. It is also used to find your device (see below).

The speech assistant Cortana, which is not (still) available in the Netherlands, also needs your location history. Furthermore, apps from the Microsoft Store can use your location, where they will ask for permission in advance. You can optionally disable location access for apps and specify a default location via the settings page.

A list of apps that have been granted access to your location can be found on the aforementioned settings page. Windows stores will save your location and history not only on your PC, but also in the cloud, if you are signed in with a Microsoft account. There it is available for other apps or services that use the Microsoft account.

The option Find my device makes sure you can find your device if you’ve lost it. You can then lock it remotely if you wish. This option is location dependent so requires you to have location access enabled as discussed above.

Furthermore, this function is dependent on a Microsoft account, because that is where the location is stored. Both for location access and for finding your device, these can be useful options, especially for a laptop. For a PC in a fixed location, they are not that relevant and we usually disable them.

Diagnostics

Windows forwards a relatively large amount of diagnostic data to its servers. This is often criticized. You have some influence on this. During installation and through the settings page Privacy / Diagnostics and Feedback you can choose whether only required or optional diagnostic data may be sent.

Required information includes information about the device and settings to help keep Windows secure, up-to-date, and for troubleshooting. Microsoft says it can determine whether the system is compatible with the next update based on installed applications and drivers. But if you completely turn off diagnostic data (by way of a detour, more about this later) the system and updates work just as well.

We recommend that you exercise caution with optional data. You’ll be revealing a lot more, including the websites you visit, the way you use apps and features, and more details about your PC’s status and activity. And then you can optionally also give permission for the use of the diagnostic data for customized experiences.

Under the heading Improve handwriting and typing You can also choose whether Windows can improve the recognition of your handwriting and words you type by maintaining a word list. That too is rarely a useful addition.

While you can customize what diagnostic data is sent through the settings page (you can also view and delete it), you can’t turn it off completely. This can be done via a detour, by stopping the DiagTrack. This would not cause any side effects.

To do this, right click on the start menu and choose computer management. Go to Services and Applications / Services. Double click on Connected User Experience and Telemetry. click on Fuses and choose at Startup type in front of Turned off. Please note, after a system update you may need to change these settings again.

App permissions and advertising ID

In the settings menu Privacy you can set various additional permissions if you use the options under the heading App permissions continues. For example, you can allow or block access to the camera and microphone in general. Most applications will stick to that.

Optionally, you can turn permissions specific for apps on or off. And if you turn it on for apps, you can still specifically revoke permission per app. You’ll find similar options for accessing things like your contacts, calendar, email, and tasks.

Finally, if you want to increase your privacy, it is smart to turn off the advertising ID. This is used to anonymously pass on information collected about your use to advertisers. This allows Windows to show personalized ads just like the apps you use.

You can manage it through the settings under Privacy / General. If you turn this off, you’ll see just as many ads, but they’re less relevant. Mobile operating systems like android and iOS work with an advertising ID by default. That’s why it’s useful to reset it every now and then, so that marketing companies can’t build a profile of you.

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