Windows 10 Telemetry: new control option for Enterprise customers launches

Martin Brinkmann
Jul 24, 2020
Windows, Windows 10
|
26

Microsoft announced the public preview of a new Telemetry controlling option for Enterprise customers on July 23, 2020.

Telemetry date, Microsoft prefers the term diagnostic data due to the negative connotation of the term Telemetry, has been a controversial aspect of the Windows 10 operating system since its launch.

Microsoft decided to enforce the collection of Telemetry data on non-Enterprise systems and give Enterprise customers the choice to disable Telemetry.

While there are ways to deal with the collection of data on Windows 10 systems, see our overview of privacy tools for Windows for example, it is likely that most Windows 10 systems transmit data to Microsoft on a regular basis.

windows 10 telemetry data

Diagnostic data is used to measure and improve the stability and reliability of the Windows 10 operating system according to Microsoft, for instance by noticing and reacting to issues as quickly as possible. The company introduced an option in 2018 to view the collected data on the device it was collected on.

Microsoft notes that Enterprise customers had two options in regards to the collection of diagnostic data up until now: admins could disable the collecting entirely, or allow Microsoft to act as the controller of the data.

The third option that Microsoft launched as a public preview this week makes the Enterprise customer the controller of the data. Microsoft states that customers stay in control of the data but will still benefit from the gathering and making available of data to Microsoft.

Microsoft's role changes from the controller of the data to that of a data processor. Enterprise customers may "use familiar tools to manage, export, or delete data to help them meet their compliance obligations".

The example that Microsoft gives in the announcement has customers respond to user requests using the Microsoft Azure portal to delete or export diagnostic data. Administrators can add or remove Windows devices using group policy or mobile device management, according to Microsoft.

Enterprise customers find a link to a signup page in the announcement if they are interested in the preview. The service is available for Windows Enterprise customers and compatible with devices running Windows 10 version 1809 or newer.

Home users won't benefit from the new option, and it seems unlikely that Microsoft will change its stance towards the collection of diagnostic data on home systems anytime soon.

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Windows 10 Telemetry: new control option for Enterprise customers launches
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Windows 10 Telemetry: new control option for Enterprise customers launches
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Microsoft announced the public preview of a new Telemetry controlling option for Enterprise customers on July 23, 2020.
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Ghacks Technology News
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Comments

  1. David said on January 28, 2021 at 8:19 pm
    Reply

    Don’t use proprietary W10Privacy. Look for open-source alternatives. E.g. https://privacy.sexy is OSS and hardens privacy much harder.

  2. owl said on July 26, 2020 at 3:40 am
    Reply

    By the way, about the topic “Windows 10 Telemetry: new control option for Enterprise customers launches”

    At the company I work for, all of my Windows machines have been updated from Windows 7 Enterprise to Windows 10 Enterprise.
    The device provided for remote work is also “Windows 10 Enterprise”.
    Large enterprise that uses the “Enterprise” version (with affiliates and pyramids of supply chains formed) have their own “systems department” from which its own systems are setting-up to supply branch offices and employees. Updates are delivered automatically from our company’s servers.
    OneDrive, Cortana, etc. have been deleted from the Windows setting-up by the company, and the install function has been disabled. Therefore, it is not possible to add third party apps and external communication can only connect to our company’s servers. (Of course, Google search is also unavailable)
    In other words, communication with Microsoft is unnecessary and annoying.

    Perhaps it is a specification that takes into account such Enterprise circumstances.

    1. owl said on July 26, 2020 at 4:41 am
      Reply

      Correction of Strings:
      False: Large enterprise that uses the “Enterprise” version (with affiliates and pyramids of supply chains formed) have their own “systems department” from which its own systems are setting-up to supply branch offices and employees.
      True: Large enterprise that uses the “Enterprise” version (with affiliates and pyramids of supply chains formed) have their own “systems department” from which its own systems are setting-up to supply Company-wide and employees.

    2. owl said on July 26, 2020 at 4:23 am
      Reply

      Correction of Strings:

      False: At the company I work for, all of my Windows machines have been updated from Windows 7 Enterprise to Windows 10 Enterprise.
      The device provided for remote work is also “Windows 10 Enterprise”.
      True: At the company I work for, all of our Windows machines have been updated from Windows 7 Enterprise to Windows 10 Enterprise.
      Their devices provided for remote work is also “Windows 10 Enterprise”.

      False: In other words, communication with Microsoft is unnecessary and annoying.
      True: In other words, communication with Microsoft are unnecessary and annoying.

      False: Perhaps it is a specification that takes into account such Enterprise circumstances.
      True: Perhaps its are a specification that takes into account such Enterprise circumstances.

  3. frodo and smeagol, I now pronounce you man and wife said on July 25, 2020 at 10:03 pm
    Reply

    When you have to jump through so many hoops, doesn’t anyone come to the realization that maybe all of this is.. oh, I don’t know.. INSANE?

    WHY would ANYONE want to use a device, especially those which carry your precious moments and personal files, WHICH SPIES ON YOU?

    ARE YOU ALL INSANE?

    At least with Linux I can install it on as many supported devices I want. I can sell it. I can give it away to my friends/family. WHAT I DON’T have to do is try and protect it from SPYING on me.

    If a Mom and Pop operation made such a thing, they would probably be heavily fined, and/or go to jail, development of said software frozen and more.

    But because it’s M$ it’s just fine and dandy!

    Have fun wasting your LIFE with such a piece of spyware trash.

  4. Paul(us) said on July 25, 2020 at 11:42 am
    Reply

    It’s still a matter of you being bitten by the dog or the cat. Or maybe even by both of them at the same time. They both bite through your protective gear and cause rabies. the vaccine developed by Louis Pasteur in 1885 is not enough.
    I am curious if anything will ever be developed that will make Unix, Linux, Android, ms-dos (Read Microsoft) Apple o.s., etc., impossible to spy on their customers.

  5. owl said on July 25, 2020 at 6:43 am
    Reply

    Microsoft and Google are essentially untrustworthy.
    Platformer “G (oogle) A (pple) F (acebook) M (icrosoft) A (mazon), which is a world-controling, greedily desires “personal information” in terms of business strategy.
    In addition, Google and Microsoft’s close relationship with the “National Security Agency” and “UKUSA Agreement” (suspicion of unlimited provision of personal information) was revealed by Edward Snowden.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Agency
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UKUSA_Agreement

    Moreover, in the United States, the “Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act” and “PRISM” have been legalized, and all people in the world are being monitored, and privacy protection is despised.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)

    Based in the United States, “GAFMA” has national security (surveillance) restrictions in addition to business interests, and the reality of privacy protection is in the dark.
    As reference information:
    Windows 10 – It’s a privacy nightmare | PrivacyTools.io
    https://www.privacytools.io/operating-systems/#win10
    Some good news:
    ● WindowsSpyBlocker – Open-source tool that blocks data collection.
    https://github.com/crazy-max/WindowsSpyBlocker/releases
    ● Comparison of Windows 10 Privacy tools – ghacks.net
    https://www.ghacks.net/2015/08/14/comparison-of-windows-10-privacy-tools/
    More bad news:
    ● Windows 10 Sends Your Data 5500 Times Every Day Even After Tweaking Privacy Settings – The Hacker News.
    https://thehackernews.com/2016/02/microsoft-windows10-privacy.html
    ● Even when told not to, Windows 10 just can’t stop talking to Microsoft. It’s no wonder that privacy activists are up in arms. – Ars Technica.
    https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/08/even-when-told-not-to-windows-10-just-cant-stop-talking-to-microsoft/
    ● Windows 10 Reserves The Right To Block Pirated Games And ‘Unauthorized’ Hardware. – Techdirt.
    https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20150820/06171332012/windows-10-reserves-right-to-block-pirated-games-unauthorized-hardware.shtml

    However, the reality of Russia, China, and Israel is being monitored more than the United States, and the privacy protection reality is likely to be even greater for products (Yandex, Kaspersky, Baidu, Opera, Qihoo 360, etc) from those countries.

    1. owl said on July 26, 2020 at 1:36 am
      Reply

      For reference:
      EFF Report Exposes, Explains Big Tech’s Personal Data Trackers Lurking on Social Media, Websites, and Apps | Electronic Frontier Foundation
      https://www.eff.org/press/releases/eff-report-exposes-explains-big-techs-personal-data-trackers-lurk-social-media

      ● Microsoft Edge has more privacy-invading telemetry than other browsers | betanews
      https://betanews.com/2020/03/09/microsoft-edge-privacy-telemetry/
      ● Dutch government report says Microsoft Office telemetry collection breaks GDPR | ZDNet
      https://www.zdnet.com/article/dutch-government-report-says-microsoft-office-telemetry-collection-breaks-gdpr/

  6. NA said on July 25, 2020 at 5:50 am
    Reply

    I thought third party apps for turning off telemetry makes asking “pretty please, Microsoft, let us turn off telemetry in Home and Pro” moot?

    https://www.ghacks.net/2015/08/14/comparison-of-windows-10-privacy-tools/

  7. ULBoom said on July 25, 2020 at 3:05 am
    Reply

    Round and round, I’ve seen this elsewhere and can’t make sense out of it. Admins are supposed to administer devices from their own company by going to Azure?

    Either MS is now going to collect even more data or they’ve been caught collecting personal data stored in Azure and are saying that’s OK? Who knows!

    MS is so big it can’t possibly make any sense any more, “Windows would be even worse if we didn’t collect the data we do that no one has a clue how to interpret.” Duuuuh!

  8. Anonymous said on July 24, 2020 at 11:56 pm
    Reply

    How about giving every edition the option? Not everyone wants to be Microsoft’s guinea pig.

    Also how could anyone use settings? It looks like it was designed by preschoolers. I rather spend extra time finding these settings in registry than having to open settings. I wish someone with guts at Microsoft fire the team who made these ugly landing sections in settings.

  9. no said on July 24, 2020 at 8:54 pm
    Reply

    You should really write “Microsoft claims that telemetry is used to improve windows” instead of “Diagnostic data is used to measure and improve the stability and reliability of the Windows 10 operating system according to Microsoft, for instance by noticing and reacting to issues as quickly as possible. The company introduced an option in 2018 to view the collected data on the device it was collected on.”. There was a former MS employee that claimed that telemetry wasn’t really all that useful for improving windows.

  10. Anonymous said on July 24, 2020 at 8:05 pm
    Reply

    Fascinatingly, after going to great lengths (WPD, W10Privacy, Spydish, Spybot, etc.) at deactivating telemetry in Win10 Pro, it still tries to contact settings-win.data.microsoft.com, config.edge.skype.com, browser.pipe.aria.microsoft.com, web.vortex.data.microsoft.com.

    Everything except the first seems to be related to the new Edge.

    On the plus side, that’s the only telemetry domains it wants to connect to.

    1. Corky said on July 25, 2020 at 9:44 am
      Reply

      You could uninstall the new edge…
      https://www.ghacks.net/2020/07/07/how-to-remove-the-new-microsoft-edge-if-uninstallation-is-blocked/

      Not saying you should but it’s an option.

    2. Iron Heart said on July 25, 2020 at 7:29 am
      Reply

      @Anonymous

      You can block those domains in your router, i.e. on the network level.

  11. Addy T. said on July 24, 2020 at 7:34 pm
    Reply

    Remains a mystery what the point of the Pro version is, when such features go to Enterprise customers and you can enable features like Sandbox on Home systems. Looks a bit like fraud.

    Another mystery is why the EU goes nuclear on Windows Media Player and cookies on websites but ignores stuff like that.

    1. No Thanks, MSNBCIAGooglesoft said on July 25, 2020 at 4:06 pm
      Reply

      “Another mystery is why the EU goes nuclear on Windows Media Player and cookies on websites but ignores stuff like that.”

      They don’t trust random websites that could be run by anyone, but they trust the CIA to give them your data. It’s a loophole they created, they have another country do the spying while they spy on that country and then they exchange data. If you think that’s a ridiculous theory I suggest you read this:

      https://protonvpn.com/blog/5-eyes-global-surveillance/
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UKUSA_Agreement
      https://restoreprivacy.com/5-eyes-9-eyes-14-eyes/
      https://vpnoverview.com/privacy/anonymous-browsing/5-9-14-eyes/
      https://www.privacytools.io/providers/#ukusa
      https://www.reddit.com/r/VPN/comments/345nep/psa_avoid_servers_and_vpns_in_the_14eyes_countries/

    2. ULBoom said on July 25, 2020 at 2:55 am
      Reply

      gpedit is the biggest benefit, changes remain changed with updates with the exception of a very few settings.

      Pro with lots of changes runs much more smoothly than Home, much more; Home is a blantant ad server, nag and overall pest that can’t be fixed well.

      Pro is the only Windows we use but damn! the time it takes to make it behave is ridiculous.

      OOB Windows mirrors OOB browsers, awful!

  12. Yuliya said on July 24, 2020 at 2:56 pm
    Reply

    I disabled telemetry on my LTSC 😃👍

    1. ULBoom said on July 25, 2020 at 2:47 am
      Reply

      Nope.

    2. Iron Heart said on July 24, 2020 at 4:08 pm
      Reply

      I bet you didn’t (completely).

      Also, obligatory and expected LTSC comment.

      1. stefann said on July 24, 2020 at 10:18 pm
        Reply

        @Iron Heart >>> You are right. all telemtry in LTSB/LTSC can’t be disabled.

      2. NA said on July 25, 2020 at 11:03 am
        Reply

        I read that disabling “Connected User Experience and Telemetry” in Services is the simplest way to have an equivalent “disable” radio button for diagnostics and feedback. That overrides even the Group policy setting.

        https://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/windows-10-telemetry.html

      3. owl said on July 26, 2020 at 2:15 am
        Reply

        @NA,

        That blog: “Windows 10 telemetry – Open up, Sesame” by Dedoimedo (Updated: March 2, 2018) is something it’s can do with the Windows OS “Settings” and it’s limited to benign nothings.
        Actually, there are many hidden or locked settings.
        Items and numbers that Microsoft actually runs Telemetry on Windows 10 OS:
        Privacy:30
        Apps:43
        Telemetry:29
        Search:5
        Network:6
        Explorer:22
        Services:8
        Edge:9
        Internet Explorer:9
        OneDrive:5
        Tasks:17
        Tweaks:25
        Firewall:25
        Background-Apps:5
        User-Apps:47
        System-Apps: Depends on version and build (require administrator right!)

        As reference information:
        Windows 10 – It’s a privacy nightmare | PrivacyTools.io
        https://www.privacytools.io/operating-systems/#win10
        Instructions | W10Privacy
        https://www.w10privacy.de/english-home/instructions-1/
        FAQ | W10Privacy
        https://www.w10privacy.de/deutsch-start/faq/

        WindowsSpyBlocker – Open-source tool that blocks data collection.
        https://github.com/crazy-max/WindowsSpyBlocker

        Top 8 Things to do with a new Windows 10 System | gHacks Tech News
        https://www.ghacks.net/2017/03/17/top-8-things-to-do-with-a-new-windows-10-system/
        How to remove core apps in Windows 10 | gHacks Tech News
        https://www.ghacks.net/2015/08/02/how-to-remove-core-apps-in-windows-10/

        In fact, it can’t be deleted, so “Disable” is the best solution.
        There are several ways to do this, but you can easily disable it using a “third party app”.
        However, it may be reset after the OS is updated, so you may need to “disable” it again.
        https://www.ghacks.net/2020/07/07/how-to-remove-the-new-microsoft-edge-if-uninstallation-is-blocked/#comment-4467494
        Microsoft’s telemetries and background tasks are a cause of system overload …
        https://www.ghacks.net/2020/07/09/control-pc-fans-with-fanctrl-for-windows/#comment-4467643

      4. Watako Tatako said on July 24, 2020 at 7:03 pm
        Reply

        Telemetry can be disabled by Group policy editor
        https://ibb.co/4f8V4LF

      5. Iron Heart said on July 25, 2020 at 7:27 am
        Reply

        @Watako Tatako

        Can this actually be confirmed with Wireshark? Even when you “turn off telemetry”, it still establishes unsolicited requests.

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