Tips on Windows 10 privacy protection

Posted on Thursday February 18, 2016

Long gone are the days where private information (like vault combinations and the name of your high school crush) are kept confined within a padlocked journal. Speculation has been circulating that Windows 10 gathers more info than it should. Whether or not you think privacy lines have been breached, here are some tips to protect your privacy in a matter of clicks.

Say goodbye to ad tracking

Every time you log on to surf the net, you are leaving a trail of breadcrumbs that lead directly to your online profile. This problem is easily solved by deactivating ad tracking. With Windows 10, however, it goes a tad further by using an advertising ID. They not only gather information based on web browsing but also when you use Windows 10 apps.

If you find this bothersome, launch the Settings app, go to General, and look for "Change privacy options". You then move the slider from on to off, but if you want to make absolutely sure you have no virtual stalkers, head to choice.microsoft.com/en-us/opt-out and disable the "Personalized ads whenever I use my Microsoft account" tab.

Slip off the grid

Thanks to location tracking, nearby restaurants and future weather predictions are at your fingertips. While some might not mind this feature, there are others who wish to enjoy some privacy from their smartphones every once in awhile. To do so, launch the Settings app, then Privacy, and disable the Location tab.

But if you wish to share your location with certain apps, scroll down and activate the 'Choose apps that can use your location' tab, and choose your desired apps. Also, regularly clearing your location history doesn't hurt either.

Cortana, why so clingy?

Albeit a very helpful digital assistant, Cortana requires access to your personal information. Turning it off completely just stops some of her data-collection, since whatever data she already knows, is stored in the cloud. So to break up for good, log into your Microsoft account and then clear all the information Cortana and other Microsoft services (ex. Bing maps) have gathered.

Other measures include clearing the information in your interests section or heading over to the "interest manager" tab and edit which interests you wish Cortana to track.

Disable Wi-Fi Sense?

This feature is designed to let you easily share Wi-Fi connections, but some have misunderstood it to be an opportunity to log onto your network and be naughty. Wi-Fi Sense allows you to share your network's bandwidth with specific people while ensuring they can't access your entire network. Vice versa, it lets you connect to Wi-Fi networks your friends share with you.

If it still worries you, launch the Setting app, go to Network & Internet > Wi-Fi > and click on Wi-Fi Sense. From there, deactivate two bars: "Connect to suggested open hotspots" and "Connect to networks shared my contacts".

Prioritize privacy

All of the aforementioned tips should take about five to ten minutes to implement, but if you'd like to take it one step further, launch the Settings app, go to Privacy, and look on the left-hand side. Here, you will find various settings that allow you to make very detailed adjustments to your privacy. Enjoy!

We hope you find these five privacy protection tips helpful. If you need more help protecting your information or securing your network, give us a call.