The Windows 10 operating system collects personal user data and stores it on its servers. However, such measures are caused by the desire of Microsoft to adapt the system to a specific user and increase its efficiency.
If you are concerned about the safety of your confidential data and want to ensure their security from Microsoft, this guide will teach you how to do it in Windows 10.
Configuring Windows 10 Privacy
In the settings of Windows 10 there is a section that serves to disable some functions and configure the relevant parameters related to data collection. This section, called Confidentiality, has five main points that will be discussed in this article.
General
The General category has four options where you can enable or disable functions as you wish. The first option based on your search queries allows you to offer targeted advertising options. The second option provides access to your list of languages to provide relevant content. The third option asks if you want Windows to track you at system startup. Finally, the last option suggests showing content in the Settings application.
– To get into Privacy, you need to click on the notification icon or go through the Settings menu.
– Next, open the All Settings section.
– Select Privacy.
– You can also use the keyboard shortcut Win + I.
– When you open the Privacy window by default, you will be in the General option. Switching between the main sections of privacy settings occurs in the left menu of the window.
– Set the General menu to your preference.
Speech
This section proposes to configure only one parameter related to speech recognition on the Internet using Cortana’s virtual voice assistant. In addition to storing data about your voice, Cortana will collect data about your notes, scheduled appointments, and contacts in order to be useful. If you do not need a computer assistant, then turn it off.
– Open the Privacy menu and select the Speech section.
– Enable or disable the Cortana voice assistant feature.
Inking and Typing Personalization
In this section, you can activate or deactivate the function of tracking text data that you type on your keyboard using speech and handwriting input. If you do not want to share this information with Microsoft, then disable this feature.
– Open the Privacy menu and select the Inking & Typing Personalization section.
– Press the On/Off button to disable or enable handwriting and keyboard input recognition.
Diagnostics and Feedback
In this section, the user is given the opportunity to monitor the amount of diagnostic data to be transmitted to Microsoft. The Diagnostics and Feedback option allows you to configure six different parameters.
For example, if you want to limit the transfer of as little of your data as possible, then click the switch labeled Basic. At the bottom of the window, a setting allows you to control the frequency of user feedback requests. Here you can choose one of several options.
– Open the Privacy menu and select the Diagnostics and Feedback section
– In the Diagnostic data section, at your discretion, select Basic or Full.
– If you select Full, you will have access to several additional settings.
– It is also possible to delete your diagnostic data. To do this, find the Delete Diagnostic Data headingand click the Delete button.
Action Log
The Windows 10 operating system saves information about how you use your computer in the form of a large number of activity logs. It is necessary for IT and technical support specialists to troubleshoot system problems and try to improve the performance of individual components. If you wish, you can limit or erase this data.
– Open the Privacy menu and select the Activity History section.
– In this section, you will see four settings. The first option Store My Activity History on this Device involves storing the history of your actions in the device’s memory.
– The second option, called Send My Activity History to Microsoft, allows you to enable or disable the sending of activity history to Microsoft.
– The third option is available only to users with a synchronized Microsoft account.
– The last option is the Clear Activity History heading whose name describes its function.