Microsoft brings more transparency to Office apps in the wake of EU GDPR inquiry

Microsoft has introduced two new option in its Office suite to provide users more transparency on the data users sent to the company. The feature was noticed in Microsoft’s latest Office Insider Build 1904.

If you’re running Office Insider Build 1904, you’ll notice two new options, namely, Required Diagnostic Data, and Optional Diagnostic Data, in the Account Data Protection settings of the Office apps. The required diagnostic data is necessary for the smooth running of Office apps, according to Microsoft, while the latter sends information regarding crashes and other bugs to Microsoft so that it can improve the service. You are already familiar with telemetry data in Windows 10 settings, this is no different. Long story short, Microsoft wants to be transparent when it comes to collecting user data.

Office users from now on will be able to choose between the two options. However, the feature is currently exclusive to Office Insiders but will eventually roll out to all Office users in the coming days.

Microsoft’s introduction of these two new options in the Office came days after EU’s launch of GDPR probe into Microsoft contracts.

An inquiry committee was set in motion after Dutch authorities started an investigation into Microsoft’s Office hidden telemetry last November. The Dutch government’s investigation, which concluded in February, found eight GDPR violations in Office ProPlus and Office 365, ZDNet reported.

Via: WindowsUnited