One more scandal concerning Microsoft’s (NASDAQ: MSFT) policy on Windows 10 which violates the user’s privacy has surfaced again and this time things get a little bit more complicated. The main story is that Edge, the company’s new browser that was created to replace Internet Explorer, collects data from your browser history and sends it to Microsoft.
This option is there by default, to all computers that upgraded to Windows 10. The company rushed to defend its side by making clear that all the information that is stored, gets encoded and used only to make Cortana more personal to the user and improve his experience with the software. Sharing personal information can sometimes be a nightmare for those who have a strict policy on privacy and are in hold of sensitive information. But it seems that from all those who decided to upgrade to the company’s new operating system, not many took the time to read the dozens of pages on the terms and conditions as well as the privacy policy of the company. So in Microsoft’s defence, they have mentioned it in some dark edge of its terms and conditions page.
But to be honest, this does not mean that it is not Microsoft’s fault, especially since the company spent an extravagant amount of human resources and money to build and promote Edge’s unique competitive features. Couldn’t they take a few seconds to let the users know that their history is not really private by default?
Though, it is not that simple as mentioned above and that is for a good reason. It is true that the company uses that information only to make Cortana 100% personal to the user. And there mustn’t be any other way to do that. So in a nutshell, a user is obligated to give his browser history away in order to make Cortana more multifunctional? Highly improbable.
It is possible to turn off the said option on Edge and keep using Cortana even when you’re not using the browser. To have Cortana stop assisting you on Microsoft Edge head up to the browser’s Settings > Advanced settings > Privacy and services > Have Cortana assist me in Microsoft Edge.