Windows 10 PCs are still sending user activity logs to Microsoft even after users select Privacy options to prevent the transmission of that data. Choosing to stop Windows 10 from syncing their data to the cloud is not enough to stop their PCs from releasing their data.<\/b>
\nThe privacy settings for Windows 10 may not be working as promised.
According to MSPoweruser, a few Reddit users have discovered that despite offering an option to opt out of sending user activity logs to Microsoft, Windows 10 is still sending that data to Microsoft even when users choose to opt out.
Windows 10 users are able to access their user activity log settings by going to Settings and then selecting Privacy. From there, within the Activity History menu, users should be able to prevent their activity history from being sent to Microsoft by either unchecking the option to, \u201cLet Windows sync my activities from this PC to the cloud\u201d or by selecting the \u201cClear activity history\u201d option.
But as some Windows 10 users have realized, selecting or deselecting these options does not guarantee that the data won\u2019t be shared since this same data can still be accessed by logging into your Microsoft account, specifically when you view your Privacy dashboard.
Additionally, as BetaNews explains, the data isn\u2019t even really considered to be purely \u201cactivity history\u201d data. As far as Windows 10 is concerned, that data is diagnostic data, regardless of whether or not it includes a user\u2019s activity history. Which means if users want to have control over how much or what kind of data is released to Microsoft, they will have to access another set of settings.
Instead, users will need to go to the Privacy menu within Settings and select \u201cDiagnostics and feedback.\u201d Within this menu, Windows 10 users can choose the Basic option which only releases diagnostic data related to a PC\u2019s settings, capabilities, and performance. Apparently, if this option is not selected, the PC seems to default to selecting the Full option which is the one that includes a user\u2019s activity history.
It\u2019s problematic that Microsoft\u2019s Privacy settings and dashboard aren\u2019t as clear about how user data is managed and released as it needs to be as many users would normally not be aware of the Basic diagnostic data option if they were just viewing Windows 10 Privacy menu.
That clarity is important in light of recent General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidelines that require companies like Microsoft to clearly inform its users about how it collects and manages user data in addition to making sure that users are given the option to not have their data collected in the first place.<\/p>\n