Control telemetry information for Windows 10

Control information sent to Microsoft.

John Savill

March 13, 2016

2 Min Read
Control telemetry information for Windows 10

Q. How can I control the telemetry information sent to Microsoft for Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016?

A. There are four levels of telemetry that can be sent to Microsoft for Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. These are detailed at https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/mt577208(v=vs.85).aspx#BKMK_UTC but can be configured via Group Policy or the registry directly. There are four types of data; security, basic health and quality, enhanced insights (which includes data such as how applications are used and their reliability) and diagnostics data. The four levels are:

  • (0) Security - Security data only

  • (1) Basic - Security and basic health & quality information

  • (2) Enhanced - Basic plus enhanced insights

  • (3) Full - Enhanced plus diagnostics data

To modify the level navigate to Computer Configuration - Administrative Templates - Windows Components - Data Collection and Preview Builds. Double click Allow Telemetry set to Enabled then select one of the 4 levels then click OK. To change via the registry change value HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesDataCollectionAllowTelemetry to the value in brackets in the list above. The aforementioned Technet article also documents making the change with MDM solutions.

Each week, John Savill answers all of your toughest tech questions about the worlds of Windows Server, Azure, and beyond. Read his past IT advice here, and email your questions to [email protected].

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