Over the past couple of years, Microsoft has come under a lot of fire over privacy concerns with Windows 10. It released some tools to tackle the issue when it was investigated by Swiss authorities, and was forced to reveal its operating system"s data collection methods to satisfy other European regulators.
Recently, it was discovered that Microsoft may be adding more privacy tools to Windows 10, and today, the company has confirmed this in a blog post.
In an effort to mitigate privacy-related concerns of its users, Microsoft has announced that new tools are coming in the next major release of Windows 10. These will offer increased transparency, allowing consumers to see what data is collected from their device, how it is utilized, and how they can control this flow of data.
The Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer will be available from the Microsoft Store, and as the name suggests, will allow you to view your device"s diagnostic data. This includes information related to device connectivity and configuration, product and service usage data, and common data, among other things.
Additionally, Microsoft is adding an Activity History page to the Privacy Dashboard that it announced more than a year ago. This specific page will allow users to easily view the data being collected from their Microsoft account. The company has stated that it in an effort to make Windows 10 more transparent to its users, it will be adding the following features to the Privacy Dashboard:
- View and manage media consumption data, as well as product and service activity on the Activity History page
- Export for any of the data you see on the dashboard
- Delete specific items to allow for greater individual control
While regular users will have access to all these new privacy settings in the next release of Windows 10, Insiders will be able to test these settings and provide feedback in the coming weeks.