Today (April 5), Microsoft went public with exactly what kind of data the operating system collects in both its “Basic” and “Full” levels. You can find the list of information for the Basic level in a technical blog posting here (opens in new tab), while Microsoft’s explanation of the data collected is here (opens in new tab). There don’t seem to be any surprising bombshells in the list, but we look forward to privacy experts parsing the data and hearing their opinions. Specifically, the Basic tier is supposed to collect only information that Microsoft needs to see how Windows 10 works on your specific hardware. That’s so it can tell whether bugs are attributable to certain parts, devices or specs. MORE: Why You Shouldn’t Worry About Windows 10 Privacy Terry Myerson, executive vice president of the Windows and Devices Group at Microsoft, wrote in a more PR-friendly blog posting that “our teams have also worked diligently since the Anniversary Update to re-assess what data is strictly necessary at the Basic level to keep Windows 10 devices up-to-date and secure.” In the same posting, Windows and Devices Group Privacy Office Marisa Rogers gave a step-by-step tour of the “privacy dashboard” that users will see after they install the Windows 10 Creators Update this month. The dashboard has toggle switches for five different types of data collection, including “Location,” “Speech Recognition,” “Diagnostics” and “Relevant Ads,” alongside explanations of what each permission actually does. For now, Microsoft has to hope that this clears the air around Windows 10, and that users can finally feel comfortable when they know exactly what gets collected. Photo: Jeremy Lips / Laptop Mag
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