FEBRUARY 2019 PCWorld 113A QUICK NOTE
ABOUT PRIVACY
Remember how we encouraged
you to click through the OOBE and
push past the privacy defaults?
Now might be a good time to go
back and think about which data to
provide to Microsoft, via the
Settings > Privacy menu.
You’re free to decide what
data Microsoft learns about you,
but the trade-off is this: Microsoft
would like you to believe that the
more data you provide, the better
your experience will be. There’s
some truth to that. If you allow
The Action Center hides quite a bit, from detailed
notifications to shortcuts at the bottom of the screen.
access to your search history and cloud
documents, for example, your searches
should be more effective. But you’ll still
see ads, so there’s really no need to
create a “unique advertising ID,” so we
suggest you should toggle off that switch
in Settings > Privacy > Options. You can
also set the Privacy > Diagnostics &
Feedback data to Basic, without any
consequences. Want a deeper dive on
Windows privacy? Check out our tutorial
at go.pcworld.com/rcpr.
There are certainly other touches you
could make to customize your PC: adding
a second monitor to increase your virtual
workspace, uninstalling bloatware like
Candy Crush, or simply adding a trusty
old keyboard and mouse. Remember, it’s
all about making your PC...your PC.Truly understanding Windows’ privacy options will take
some doing, and Microsoft still struggles to explain what it’s
doing to consumers. Allowing Microsoft access to your data
has some benefits, but provide just the basics.