telemetry privacy

Windows runs a quiet orchestra of background services: some are essential, others are convenience features, and a few are plain background overhead that quietly eat CPU, memory, disk I/O, and — sometimes — your internet bandwidth and battery life. After pruning a small list of nonessential...

Microsoft has quietly begun inviting a subset of Windows users to test experimental AI features through a new opt‑in program called Windows AI Labs, an in‑OS pilot that first surfaced as a sign‑up prompt inside Microsoft Paint and which Microsoft describes as a “pilot acceleration program for...

I opened Paint and a small banner asked me to join “Windows AI Labs” — an opt‑in program that, according to the on‑screen card and an attached programme agreement, will let selected users test experimental AI features inside Microsoft Paint before those features are broadly released. Overview...

Microsoft’s latest Xbox app update for Windows 11 and handhelds finally stitches scattered PC game libraries into a single, controller‑friendly hub that promises smoother launches, cross‑device continuity, and a new “My apps” launcher — but it also raises important questions about DRM handoffs...

Microsoft’s Xbox app on Windows 11 has quietly evolved from a Game Pass storefront into a genuine, controller-friendly gaming hub capable of listing and launching installed titles from Steam, Epic, GOG, Battle.net and more — and the company is now rolling key pieces of that work out to wider...

Microsoft is adding a one‑click internet speed checker directly to the Windows 11 taskbar, visible in recent Insider preview builds and implemented as a shortcut that launches Bing’s speed‑test web widget from the network icon’s context menu and Wi‑Fi quick settings. Background Microsoft has...

Microsoft is quietly testing a one‑click internet speed test in Windows 11 that puts a “Perform speed test” shortcut directly in the taskbar’s network menu and Wi‑Fi quick settings — but the control simply launches Bing’s web speed‑test widget in your default browser rather than running a...

Microsoft is quietly testing a small but notable convenience feature in Windows 11: a one‑click internet speed test shortcut embedded directly in the network flyout and taskbar context menu — a shortcut that, for now, simply launches Bing’s online speed‑test widget rather than running a native...

Microsoft Defender SmartScreen in Microsoft Edge acts as a live reputation and content filter that warns users about phishing pages, malicious downloads, and suspicious sites before they can do harm. (support.microsoft.com, learn.microsoft.com) Background Microsoft Defender SmartScreen began as...

Windows 11’s newest cumulative update brings a pragmatic — and quietly radical — addition: Quick Machine Recovery (QMR), a cloud-assisted rescue system that aims to repair unbootable PCs from within the Windows Recovery Environment. The August 12, 2025 patch (KB5063878) that delivered this...

Windows 11’s reputation has been a mixed bag among both everyday users and IT professionals since its release. While Microsoft promoted the new operating system as a modern, secure, and visually appealing successor to Windows 10, many users have cited concerns related to performance...

Windows 11 users have long sought ways to stretch every ounce of battery life from their laptops—a challenge magnified by the ever-evolving demands of modern workloads and the increasingly mobile nature of computing. Now, Microsoft is testing an ambitious new feature dubbed “adaptive energy...

As the inevitable end of official support for Windows 10 approaches, the software ecosystem around Microsoft’s iconic operating system is undergoing a subtle but significant shift. At the heart of this transition is Google Chrome, the world’s most popular web browser, now actively checking...