![]() ![]() ![]() The biggest problem for Windows 7 users is that the ten-year-old operating system is reaching the end of its life. Windows 7 is regarded by many as the last version of Windows with no built-in features specifically designed to invade users’ privacy.Īs with both versions of Windows 8, however, this distinction has been somewhat ruined by the retroactive addition of telemetry collection. A big difference to the much more invasive location tracking performed by Windows 10, though, is that location data collected by Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 is sent to Microsoft only.Īs with Windows 8.1, telemetry collection was retroactively added to Windows 8 in 2015. This version of Windows introduced location tracking. These are unique identifiers that allow companies to target users with personalized advertising.ĭuring its active life cycle, Windows 8.1 did not collect any telemetry data, however, not long after the launch of Windows 10, Microsoft added telemetry collection to Windows 8.1, Windows 8, and Windows 7 via its automatic update channel. Windows 8.1 does not contain Cortana, and therefore has much less integration with the Bing search engine, and does not need to collect personalization data. Most of this data collection can be opted out of, but it is not possible to opt-out of telemetry collection unless using the Enterprise Edition of Windows 10. Typing and inking data is also collected in order to improve recognition. These include the collection of user contacts, calendar data, and associated input data to personalize speech, typing, and inking input. Windows users are still led towards accepting default settings which are highly invasive. Most privacy-invading features can be disabled, and Microsoft now does a much better job at explaining what they do and allowing users to turn them off during installation than when Windows 10 was first released. Many users may be happy with the trade-off between privacy and convenience using these services brings, but the sheer amount of information that Microsoft can collect about you through Windows 10 is worrying. Microsoft’s automatic collection of telemetry data (for troubleshooting purposes) has also caused concern. This is particularly true of its Bing and Cortana services, which collect a great deal of personal information about you in order to provide a highly personalized experience. Windows 10Įver since its release in July 2015, Windows 10 has caused controversy over its many privacy fails. *No telemetry was collected when these versions of Windows were released, but this has since been added through automatic updates. ![]() *Telemetry - This is the process of recording data from and sending it to another source. The table below outlines what data your version of windows is potentially sharing. Windows 10 was designed in part to solve these problems, offering incremental updates, rather than widespread changes with each new version.Įvery new PC since 2015 ships with Windows 10, but there may still be some users out there persisting with older hardware who simply never got around to taking Microsoft up on its offer of a free upgrade (which it extended all the way through to 31 December 2017).įor many, though, the most logical reason not to upgrade to the latest version Windows is that earlier versions of Windows are just not as invasive to privacy as Windows 10. Upgrade costs, problems with backward compatibly, and the possible the need to retrain staff are all reasons to delay the move. Many users, however, are still using older versions of the operating system.įor businesses, this is understandable. Four years after its release, Microsoft hopes that everyone has upgraded to the last version of Windows. ![]()
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