The telemetry services of Windows 10 continue to be the subject of much discussion regarding the privacy of the end user.
Although Microsoft has reportedly updated telemetry practices in Windows 10 to improve privacy and transparency of the data collection process, observers from around the world continue to look at the issue, giving Microsoft instructions on how to comply with its requirements.
A recent analysis of telemetry services in Windows 10 conducted by the German Federal Office for Information Security, officially known as the Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik, or BSI for short, shows us how telemetry works in the operating system.
BSI has tested the so-called Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) providers used by Microsoft to collect data at different telemetry levels in Windows 10.
Η study reveals that the differences in data collection processes in Windows 10 Home are minimal, despite two different levels of Full and Basic telemetry. Microsoft seems to have access to a significantly increased amount of information. We should mention that in Windows 10 Home, users can only choose between basic and full levels of telemetry.
The German Federal Office also inspected the IP addresses to which Windows 10 is linked to send the information obtained by end users. Most servers are located in the United States, but there are servers in Ireland and the Netherlands.
Microsoft, of course, states that the information collected is used for the sole purpose of improving Windows 10, and that data transmitted to its servers is fully encrypted and securely stored without personal information.
You can read the full BSI report in English from here (PDF).
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