Privacy settings were first introduced in Windows 8 and Microsoft has added more options in Windows 10. For people who care about privacy, the privacy settings in Windows 10 are important and you need to understand them in order to make good use of them.

Privacy Settings in Windows 10 Users Should Know

To access the privacy settings in Windows 10, you have to go to PC settings. Windows 8 had around 5 privacy settings, but in the Windows 10 operating system, they have 12. The privacy settings in Windows 10 are discussed below.

General Settings: The first among the important privacy settings in Windows 10 is the general settings. They are similar to what we had in Windows 8 with additional options like providing apps to access your name, account information and pictures. They have now been moved to the Account info section.

Location Settings: The next one is a Location setting that provides options for Windows apps to track your location and other details. If you do not wish Windows to track and report your location, then you can make changes here.

Microphone and Camera Settings: Microphone will be present in most systems. There are certain apps like Skype that use your system’s microphone. If you do not wish Skype to use it, you can disable it from here. You can clearly specify the apps that should have access to your system’s microphone here. All the changes to the microphone settings can be made here.

Are you using a webcam? Just like the microphone, you can also control those apps that can have access to your webcam from here. If you do not wish some apps to use your camera, you can make the necessary changes in the webcam settings.

Getting to Know You: Windows 10 has a feature that will learn about you from your voice and handwriting and then store this information in the Cloud. If you do not wish Windows 10 to store this data, including your calendar, in the cloud, you can change the privacy settings in Windows 10 related to “Getting to Know You.” After making the changes, if you want Bing to forget all the data that has been stored up to this point, you need to clear the history as well.

Calendar, Account Info: Account info and calendar were under the General category in Windows 8, but in Windows 10 they have a separate entry. In Windows 10, there are certain apps that have access to your calendar, account information and contacts. If you wish to change the settings, you can change it from here.

Messaging and Radio: Messaging and Radio is another important privacy setting in Windows 10. Depending upon your requirements, you can modify the settings from here so that only those apps that you have selected will have access to send and receive messages and use radio or Bluetooth.

Conclusion

Windows 10 comes with various privacy settings that are useful for people who care about privacy. All the above points are important privacy settings in Windows 10 that people should be aware of and where to find some of them, since the location was changed from Windows 8.