Microsoft announces Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer for better transparency of data

Microsoft has been facing a lot of concerns about its collection of data with Windows 10 Operating System (OS). While the company has already revealed what goes on, the tech giant has now said that Windows 10 Insiders or testers will soon be able to install a new program from the Microsoft Store that will give them full access to all the diagnostic data from their Windows device.

For those unaware Windows Insider is an open software testing program started by the software giant that allows users with a valid license of Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 to sign up for pre-release builds of the operating system. This was previously only accessible to developers.

"To kick off the new year ahead of 'Data Privacy Day' we are giving our Windows Insiders an early preview of the 'Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer' coming in our next release of Windows," Marisa Rogers, WDG Privacy Officer, Microsoft wrote in the company's blog post late on Wednesday.

"Our commitment is to be fully transparent on the diagnostic data collected from your Windows devices, how it is used, and to provide you with increased control over that data," Rogers said.

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Available to everyone in the Microsoft Store, the programme called "Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer" is separate from the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard and allows you to see, search, and take action with your diagnostic data. However, Microsoft has also updated the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard with a new Activity History page to provide easier navigation way to see the data saved with a user's Microsoft account.

Users will be able to see and search all Windows diagnostic data that's in the Cloud related to their specific device. The diagnostic data includes device connectivity, peripherals, configuration options, performance data, movie consumption, installed apps, and a lot more.

France had earlier ordered the tech giant to stop tracking Windows 10 users and the European Union (EU) had also voiced its concerns while Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) also pulled up the company over its data collection. So with this new move hopefully Microsoft will be proving that they were right and everything will be transparent.