Microsoft changes how Windows 10 collects user data
Microsoft recently released Windows 10 Insider Preview Build 19577. This release includes a series of changes, one of which is about changes to diagnostic data in Windows 10. There are four levels of diagnostic data in the current version of Windows 10: Security, Basic, Enhanced, and Full. The Windows 10 Settings app currently lists two different diagnostic data levels, Basic and Full, to determine the amount of data collected and transmitted to Microsoft, often referred to as telemetry data.
According to the announcement, starting with the Insider version of this month, the “Enhanced ” level will be removed and the remaining settings will be renamed in the next Windows 10 release.
Microsoft writes:
As part of the Microsoft initiative to increase transparency and control over data, we’re making some changes to the Settings app and Group Policy settings in Windows Insider builds this month. Let’s review the current diagnostic data settings and the changes that are forthcoming.
As part of this change, any device that was previously set to Enhanced will be defaulted to Basic. This will result in some devices not receiving flights as expected. Enabling Optional Diagnostic Data will set the device to diagnostic level 3 (formerly Full) and return users to flighting as expected.
If you are a commercial customer and choose to send Optional diagnostic data, in the future we will also be providing more granular Group Policy settings to configure the data that is collected within your organization. We will publish additional information about the revised diagnostic policies as we approach public release.
