How to configure privacy settings in the Windows 10 Creators Update

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Published on April 9, 2017

by Michael Allison

published on April 9, 2017

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Windows 10 has gotten a bit of flack lately for its privacy issues – and while it is a bit overblown in some regards, there are valid concerns by users regarding Cortana and an increasing number of ads in Windows 10. We’ve written about controlling Cortana here, and Windows 10 ads here and here.

That being said, there are still some more steps users can take to protect their privacy in Windows 10 via the Settings app.

Here’s how to get it configured.

How to configure your privacy settings on Windows 10

Open the settings
Navigate to Privacy.
Here there are quite a few settings you can toggle off and on, the process for each is simple. Most people are concerned with permissions that can be exploited for remote spying like the camera, microphone, and location. Luckily, Microsoft has broken those out into their own separate categories.
To toggle these permissions off for all Windows app regardless, open the setting of your choice – for instance – “Microphone” and toggle it off at the top level option. Now no app will be able to use the Microphone. If you’re going to be using VoIP or voice recorder apps this isn’t advisable, as you would be better served turning off the app permissions for individual apps.
To toggle off for individual apps, open the permissions screen of the permission you would like to deny, scroll down and then toggle that permission for that app off. This prevents the app from using your device’s hardware. For instance, the Facebook app’s camera access is denied – preventing Facebook from using my camera.
If you aren’t interested in giving Microsoft your feedback or sending diagnostic data, you can reduce the amount of data your computer sends by default in the “Feedback and diagnostics screen found in the “Privacy Sub-Menu”. Of course, if you’re a Windows Insider your device is automatically configured to send the maximum amount of data by default so you should be aware of that.