Using applications to stop telemetry

Hi, there's no need to disable Cortana- simply make sure Hey Cortana is disabled in Settings and you won't encounted Cortana.
Better than hacking the O/S.

Likewise- why disable the Store? If you don't need it, don't use it. Occasionally it is useful- I believe it's needed now for language packs, and Edge extensions, for example. But you don't want Edge- or its replacement Chromium based Edge being delivered via Windows Update imminently, I believe.

Legitimate program? Some use O&O Shutup10
O&O shutup - Google Search

There are others.

Fears of MS finding out what colour underwear you've ordered recently are generally grossly overdone. If you worry about MS telemetry, then as per the various threads on this topic already on tenforums, you won't use email, an email server, any form of cloud service.... nor will you use Amazon or any Google service. And of course you'll search using e.g. Duckduckgo, and use a secure browser. That's just to be consistent of course.

That said there are a few things in Settings best changed from default.

Before considering any changes to the way the O/S works, do make sure you have an appropriate backup or means of reversing those changes at least. tenforums members often strongly recommend the routine use of disk imaging e..g Macrium reflect (free/paid).

SaferNetworking's SpyBot Beacon I think still has a free version that has worked well for me and my W7s. Realize not all telemetry is concerned about you and what you do with your computer at all.

FYI:

I've used this:

Debotnet | Mirinsoft ❤︎

Which uses scripts based on information found here:

Windows 10 Privacy Guide - May 2019 Update - Federico Dossena

I've also used O&O plus Spybot but didn't find them of much use.

In addition I've run:

Instructions - W10Privacy

It has backup available. See:

Download W10Privacy - MajorGeeks

Note: If disabling/ removing items that might be targeted in a cumulative update then you risk that cumulative update failing resulting in the need to reinstall windows.

You should read FAQ here:

FAQ . mirinsoft/debotnet Wiki . GitHub

Comparison of Windows 10 Privacy tools - gHacks Tech News

windowz123 said:

I am sure there must be other people sharing my concerns and who are working hard in the search for the perfect solution for this.. I am just not fully up to date on that subject today.

I copied some tweaks from privacy tools. I prefer to do it myself, I like to know, what each command does rather than clicking on some magical button: Block all telemetry. Because even when some of them claim to backup, restore does not always work. Just like uninstalling store is pretty much irreversible.

Microsoft have made available a utility in the MS store for free, the Diagnostic Data Viewer, it shows you what type of information is being sent, from what and when.
I have to say though without any 3rd party apps and just turning off settings easily accessed through Settings and Control Panel I apparently send no data, my Ethernet connection seems to back this up.

Most of the paranoia has been generated by unsubstantiated Twitter/ Reddit style posting and it wouldn't surprise me to find that most of these "privacy enforcing apps" are either snake oil or sending data themselves, especially the paid for ones.

Pejole2165 said:

Most of the paranoia has been generated by unsubstantiated Twitter/ Reddit style posting

Many people have been jailed over data shared by onedrive, smartscreen, windows defender's cloud, etc. So privacy does matter, since what is considered illegal and against TOS, is subjective these days. Kaspersky is banned in USA merely because its cloud engine uploaded NSA files for analysis.

I myself prefer tools, that scan current settings, so you can see, what is already applied.
For example I like BlackBird, some of those settings are related to ADs and security.