Microsoft Facing Legal Pressure In Russia Over Windows 10 Privacy Concerns
Lawyers in Moscow raised privacy concerns about Windows 10 this week, echoing complaints in the U.S. about the flagship operating system’s perceived data collection practices. The complaint by Russian lawyers comes shortly after the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office sent Microsoft a request for information about the way Windows 10 collects and transmits user data.
For all the success Windows 10 has had since launching late last month, the OS has been dogged by worries that it could be giving Microsoft more information about users than many intend to share. Users in the US have complained Windows 10 sends too much information to Microsoft, even with privacy settings enabled, and a Czech website claims that Windows 10 behaves much like a keylogger.
Complaints by the Russian lawyers are wide-ranging. They claim that Windows 10 transmits calendar entries, browser histories, and location information to Microsoft, along with voice recordings. Microsoft denied the accusations. Russian news agency quoted an unnamed Microsoft employee as saying, “The new operating system offers users the choice of how they want it to handle their data and user can change the settings at any point.”
The operating system has settings that users can adjust – and anyone who installed the OS using the Express Installation will likely want to check those settings out, as the express install enables some of them. To find Windows 10’s data collection settings, click the Start button, then click Settings, Privacy. The Change Privacy Options sections lets you disable certain features that send information to Microsoft, including one that will “Send Microsoft info about how I write to help us improve typing and writing in the future,” among others.
For all the success Windows 10 has had since launching late last month, the OS has been dogged by worries that it could be giving Microsoft more information about users than many intend to share. Users in the US have complained Windows 10 sends too much information to Microsoft, even with privacy settings enabled, and a Czech website claims that Windows 10 behaves much like a keylogger.
Complaints by the Russian lawyers are wide-ranging. They claim that Windows 10 transmits calendar entries, browser histories, and location information to Microsoft, along with voice recordings. Microsoft denied the accusations. Russian news agency quoted an unnamed Microsoft employee as saying, “The new operating system offers users the choice of how they want it to handle their data and user can change the settings at any point.”
The operating system has settings that users can adjust – and anyone who installed the OS using the Express Installation will likely want to check those settings out, as the express install enables some of them. To find Windows 10’s data collection settings, click the Start button, then click Settings, Privacy. The Change Privacy Options sections lets you disable certain features that send information to Microsoft, including one that will “Send Microsoft info about how I write to help us improve typing and writing in the future,” among others.
