Windows 10 & 11 Telemetry Explained: Privacy, Data Collection & User Control

As millions of users confront the pivotal decision of whether to stick with Windows 10, upgrade to Windows 11, or pursue alternatives outside the Microsoft ecosystem, a deeper conversation has emerged around the topic of telemetry and data collection practices. For privacy-conscious individuals and organizations, understanding what information is collected, how it’s used, and where users retain any semblance of control is crucial. This context is especially important at a time when digital privacy is frequently debated, regulatory pressures are mounting, and public trust in big tech remains fraught.

Required vs. Optional Data Collection: What’s the Difference?​

Microsoft has refined its messaging regarding telemetry since the initial outcry that accompanied Windows 10’s launch. The company now clearly categorizes telemetry into two primary buckets: Required and Optional. This nuanced approach is designed both to meet legal requirements and to justify continued data collection in the name of user experience and system security.

Required Data​

Required data, as Microsoft defines it, is the minimum information deemed necessary to keep Windows updates flowing, devices secure, and basic functions running smoothly. This data is collected regardless of user preference. There are two principal types within this category:

• Required Diagnostic Data: This encompasses device configuration details (such as hardware, operating system version, memory, device identifiers, and network connections), system stability and error reports, update and installation records, and basic information about connected peripherals and drivers. According to Microsoft's documentation and various independent privacy reviews, this telemetry is designed to enable faster troubleshooting and more effective patch deployment, but its granularity can still make privacy advocates uneasy.
• Required Service Data: This subset is collected when using specific cloud-powered features and “connected experiences” within Windows. Examples include Find My Device, Family Safety, Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, delivery optimization for updates, and Windows backup. When these features are used, data such as authentication tokens, certificates, device location, and service-specific settings are transmitted to Microsoft. These services are opt-in, meaning the additional data collection only activates when a user chooses to use them.

It’s important to note that while enterprise customers can manage and sometimes restrict the type and volume of required data, home users have little power except to disable certain connected experiences altogether.

Optional Data​

Microsoft insists that sending optional diagnostic data can enhance system personalization, accelerate bug fixes, and improve user experience. This data includes detailed app usage statistics, browsing history (in Microsoft browsers), inking and typing samples, and more exhaustive performance metrics.
By default, optional data collection is typically turned off, but users can enable it via Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics and feedback in both Windows 10 (version 1903 and later) and Windows 11. Optional data categories can be summarized as:

• Browsing History Data: Search queries and website visits in Microsoft browsers.
• Detailed Device and Connectivity Data: More granular than required diagnostic data, capturing specifics on device use and cloud interactivity.
• Inking, Typing, and Speech Utterance Data: Samples from dictation, writing, and typing sessions, with the purpose of improving input recognition, though concerns persist around the inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information.
• App and Service Usage: Detailed logs on which applications are launched, how they are used, and error rates.
• Performance Metrics: Extensive logs around feature usage, system performance, and even crash dumps.

Microsoft publishes granular breakdowns of these categories, but even with documentation, the extent to which this data is anonymized remains a point of skepticism among privacy experts.

Telemetry in Practice: How Windows Implements Data Collection​

On any Windows 10 or 11 device, personal data collection is deeply embedded in the user experience, especially in areas increasingly powered by the cloud. Features such as Windows Search, widgets, Smart App Control, and integrated voice typing all leverage Microsoft’s connected cloud for real-time improvements—but in exchange, they often require users to share device-specific and behavioral data.

Connected Experiences: Opt-In, But Often On by Default​

Virtually every interaction with a Microsoft service—whether setting up a new PC, customizing the lock screen, or connecting to OneDrive—creates new telemetry records. The list of cloud-powered features affected by required service data collection includes:

• Activity history
• Get Started app tutorials
• Microsoft Family Safety controls
• Device encryption management
• Find My Device location tracking
• Microsoft Phone Link
• Windows Spotlight and Widgets
• SmartScreen anti-phishing filter

Each of these not only operates by collecting specific categories of user data but often does so with minimal intervention required during setup. The practical reality, as uncovered by numerous privacy reviews, is that many consumers either overlook explicit settings or lack the technical acumen to meaningfully restrict information flow.

Enterprise vs. Consumer: Control and Transparency Divide​

Organizations with volume licensing—or those enrolled in Windows Enterprise editions—can exert fine-grained control over telemetry via group policies, registry edits, and dedicated configuration tools. Consumers, by contrast, are restricted to toggling broad preference switches, typically between required-only and required-plus-optional levels. Disabling telemetry altogether is not an option natively supported by the OS.

Examining User Choices: What Control Do You Really Have?​

Despite ongoing public pressure, Microsoft has maintained that the collection of required diagnostic and service data cannot be fully disabled by the average user. The logic, as presented by the company’s legal and engineering teams, is that this data is necessary for the safety, update cadence, and general smooth operation of the Windows ecosystem.

Settings and Tools​

The key interface for managing telemetry in Windows 10 and 11 is the Diagnostics & Feedback area within the Settings app. Here’s what users can (and cannot) do:

• Adjust Diagnostic Data: Select between ‘Required’ and ‘Optional’ diagnostic data. There is no “off” switch for required data.
• Toggle Inking, Typing, and Speech Collection: Turn off collection to avoid sending samples of speech dictation or text entry.
• Control Tailored Experiences: Opt out of personalized ads and recommendations driven by behavioral data.
• Diagnostic Data Viewer: A tool aimed at transparency. Enabling it lets users view telemetry records destined for Microsoft, at the cost of up to 1GB of storage space.

The Diagnostic Data Viewer has received mixed reviews. Experienced users appreciate the unprecedented visibility, while others critique its complexity and the jargon-heavy data, which isn’t easily interpretable by average consumers. Microsoft deserves credit for offering transparency, but the feature’s utility remains limited for non-technical users.

Advanced Workarounds: The Technically Savvy Route​

Network-based firewalls, registry hacks, and third-party privacy tools exist, offering more aggressive strategies to dampen or block telemetry. However, these approaches often come with side effects, such as broken update mechanisms or reduced system functionality. Additionally, such tactics are impractical or intimidating for the vast majority of home users.
It’s also critical to highlight that Microsoft’s end-user license agreement explicitly prohibits circumventing certain security features—a clause critics claim is used to discourage disabling telemetry by non-supported means.

Perceptions, Criticisms, and Privacy Implications​

Transparency and Public Documentation​

Public trust hinges on both the existence of comprehensive privacy documentation and the ease with which it can be understood. Microsoft, to its credit, has significantly expanded the breadth and detail of its privacy resources, with step-by-step guides, technical whitepapers, and even interactive diagnostic tools aimed at demystifying telemetry.
Despite this, concerns linger. Many users simply don’t read privacy documentation, and the complexity of consent dialogs often leads to “click-through” behavior where defaults remain untouched. Security researchers and privacy watchdogs have repeatedly urged Microsoft to clarify which data is linked to personal accounts, how long it is stored, and how it is shared with partners or law enforcement.

Security, The Trade-Off for Convenience​

One of the strongest arguments for Microsoft’s extensive telemetry comes from the security perspective. Telemetry data, especially error logs and crash dumps, allows faster identification of vulnerabilities and deployment of patches. Features like SmartScreen and Defender rely on real-time communication with Microsoft’s servers to stop phishing, malware, and zero-day exploits. In an ecosystem as sprawling as Windows, timely threat intelligence is non-negotiable.
But this system, by design, requires a steady supply of potentially personal information. Critics argue that the trade-off between system security and privacy has not been sufficiently scrutinized, particularly given the company’s record on past telemetry ‘overcollection’ incidents. The debate is further complicated by regulatory environments such as Europe’s GDPR and emerging U.S. privacy laws, which require greater user consent granularity and data minimization practices.

Risks: Potential for Abuse, Scope Creep, and Data Sovereignty​

Microsoft stresses that required diagnostic data is anonymized where feasible, and that all personal data is handled in accordance with strict privacy regulations. Yet, the scope of data routinely transferred to the company’s servers is significant, and some of it—by necessity or design—remains potentially linkable to individual users or devices.
Security researchers have flagged several risks:

• Scope Creep: Over time, the definition of “required” data can quietly expand to include new items, especially as cloud services become deeply integrated into core OS experiences.
• Potential for Abuse: Improperly secured or inadequately anonymized telemetry stores could, in theory, be compromised in a data breach or leveraged for targeted advertising without adequate consent.
• Data Sovereignty: For non-U.S. customers, especially those in sensitive government or enterprise sectors, data residency concerns remain acute. Even anonymized data routed through U.S.-based servers can present compliance challenges.

While there have been no high-profile leaks of Windows telemetry data, endemic cyber threats underscore the systemic risks faced by any cloud-powered system with massive, centralized data flows.

Practical Scenarios: What Data Does Your PC Send, and When?​

Consider the average Windows user leveraging cloud search, automatic updates, and periodic troubleshooting prompts. The following real-world flow illustrates just how much information is potentially “in play”:

• Bootup and Sign-In: Device identifiers, OS version, network configuration, and sign-in methods transmitted.
• Daily Use: App launch logs, error and crash reports, general performance stats, background activity tracking.
• Connected Experiences: Optional participation in Windows Insider previews or cloud backup? Expect system snapshots, error dumps, and feature usage stats to be relayed.
• Web Browsing in Microsoft Edge: Search terms, browsing history, extension use, and in-browser settings may be collected—especially if optional data sharing is enabled.
• Inking and Dictation: If using voice-typing or handwriting input, samples are uploaded for improved recognition (allegedly decoupled from personal identity, though this is difficult for outside researchers to fully verify).

How Windows Compares to Competing Operating Systems​

Debates around privacy and telemetry are not unique to Windows. Both macOS and Linux-based distributions employ some level of telemetry, though the philosophy and implementation differ:

• Apple macOS: Collects usage and crash data, but is generally more restrictive about sharing detailed personal activity by default. Apple touts on-device processing for many AI-driven features.
• Google’s Chrome OS: Leans heavily on Google’s cloud infrastructure, with even routine tasks relaying information back for synchronization and personalization.
• Linux: Varies by distribution, but most mainstream distros collect little or no telemetry unless explicitly enabled; open-source nature allows technical users to verify what is logged or sent.

In comparison, Windows’ data collection framework is both more ambitious (in terms of breadth and cloud integration) and more prescriptive—especially for non-enterprise customers. That said, the increasing reliance on personalized, always-connected features means that complete telemetry opt-out is becoming rarer across all modern operating systems, not just Windows.

Conclusion: Navigating Your Path Forward​

As Windows 10’s mainstream support ends and users consider their upgrade paths, the dilemma surrounding data collection is both timely and consequential. Microsoft has invested heavily in transparency tools, robust documentation, and—at least for enterprise IT—a degree of telemetry control that addresses many privacy concerns. However, for the average home user, the options remain stark: accept an opaque baseline of required data transmission, or seek complex technical workarounds that may compromise system stability.
Critically, neither Windows 10 (post-version 1903) nor Windows 11 offer meaningful changes in their data collection regimes. The decision to upgrade, therefore, should not hinge on privacy grounds alone; both platforms are essentially equivalent in what they collect and how much control they grant non-enterprise users.
In an era where every new OS feature seems to hinge on cloud connectivity and AI-driven recommendations, a certain amount of telemetry may be inevitable. The onus, then, is on users to weigh their trust in Microsoft against their practical computing needs, and on Microsoft to ensure that the balance between security, innovation, and individual privacy remains steadfastly in the user’s favor. For those who care deeply about digital privacy, keeping an eye on the Diagnostic Data Viewer and periodically reviewing Microsoft’s evolving telemetry documentation will remain essential best practices—though, as ever, true privacy may well require stepping far off the beaten (Redmond) path.

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Source: Neowin This is the data Windows collects about you