Maintaining Your Privacy

Windows 10 makes it simple for you to share information among apps, both online and off. Your apps can use your location data to set your time zone, display the weather, offer location-related search results, and much more.

On the flip side of all this sharing are two important questions: How do these apps share this information, and how much data do you really want to turn loose out there in cyberspace? Windows 10 lets you determine whether you want your apps to communicate with each other and share information about you-such as your location or content URLs from the apps you use-with others who are interested in gathering it.

Turn Off Location for Your Kids

Location settings are of special concern to parents who are doing their best to safeguard their kids online. Although teens know for the most part they shouldn't share personal information on social media sites, some sites publish location information if those settings are turned on. If you have a child using social media, make sure location is turned off on phones and computing devices.

Choosing Privacy Settings

To review and modify privacy settings, follow these steps:

1. Type privacy into the Search box on the taskbar.
2. Click Privacy Settings.
3. To allow Windows 10 to share your search information so ads are more targeted to your interests, leave this set to the On position.
4. Leave this set to On if you want web content to be personalized to your local area using your languages list.
5. Leave this set to On if you want to let Windows notice which apps you open often to improve the Start menu and search results.
6. Leave this setting On if you want to receive suggestions in the Settings app.

When you click the Privacy Statement link on the Privacy screen, you are taken online to the Windows page where the statement is posted. This statement explains what personal information is gathered, what your choices are, and how the information is used.

Setting Location Privacy

Here's how to change your location settings:

1. Display Settings and choose Privacy.
2. Click Location.
3. If you want to turn location settings completely off, click the Change button. A small pop-up box appears. Drag the Location slider to the Off position.
4. Scroll down through the window until you can see the location settings for your apps.
5. If you want to leave location settings on but allow only selected apps to use them, go through your apps list and slide all those you do not want to have access to your location to the Off position.

Although giving apps access to your location can have benefits (finding local restaurants, showing friends on Facebook where you are so they can join you, and so on), it also brings concerns. First, with our ongoing struggle between privacy and security, we don't always want to be on other peoples' radar screens. Second, some people can use that information in ways that could pose a risk. For example, you don't want potential predators to be able to know where in the city your child is posting from or provide too much information about your location if you are going to be away.