Microsoft to improve privacy controls in October Windows 10 Creators Update with granular, app-by-app permissions
Microsoft has detailed some more tweaks to its privacy settings in Windows 10, which will be introduced in the third major update in just over a month’s time.
The Autumn Creators Update will start rolling out on 17 October. The new options will be based on granular app-by-app control in what looks like Microsoft responding to demands from disgruntled users.
In a blog post, Microsoft’s Marisa Rogers explained: «As part of our ongoing dialogue and transparency with you, our customers, I am excited to announce these privacy changes coming next month in the Fall Creators Update. Windows Insiders will get an early look of some of these changes in the coming weeks. I look forward to continued dialogue and hearing your feedback».
In much the same way that recent versions of Android have offered more control over exactly what functionality over the device each app has access to, albeit often in an opaque manner, now so too will Windows 10.
It can already be done, but retrospectively. In other words, you have to «unpermit» apps and services, even if that means it’s too late to stop them knowing where you are, for example
Starting with the new Creators Update, you will be required to explicitly give permission for each piece of access and there’s even a full privacy statement to wallow through (or more likely ignore) during installation.
Windows 10 Enterprise users will get even more, with a new setting that will turn all data collection down to as near to zero as possible — retaining only Windows 10’s analytics service running as it should to warn of upgrades and calamities.
All in all, it’s a big step in the right direction, but perhaps not to the full extent that many users would like, especially those who are used to the Windows of old that let you (more or less) lock stuff down.
