Windows 10 November Update Resets Settings to Re-Enable Data Collection: Reports

Several Windows 10 users are complaining that the November update, which Microsoft released last month, has overwritten their previously saved privacy settings. As a result of this, many who had altered telemetry, error reporting, or any other privacy centred feature that come as part of Windows 10, have been re-enabled.

Users have taken it to Reddit to note that after installing Windows 10 on their systems, data collecting features that Microsoft enables by default in the new operating system get re-enabled. Some note that this is because the company is "literally re-installing Windows 10" on their computer as opposed to upgrading it.

"The November (Fall) Update literally reinstalls the entire operating system, which is why program defaults and a lot more end up reverting and disabled things may come back," the top most popular comment reads. "Yeah, and what's weird is they removed it from being pre-packaged with the ISO for a clean install. Which is like offering SP1 for Windows 7 but not slipstreaming it into a new build," another user chimed in.

Some users of a third-party application, which lets users disable all data-harvesting features in Windows 10, have posted screenshots to reaffirm that November update has indeed reverted the settings. Understandably some users who use third-party apps to block automatic Windows updates are also facing a similar issue. A developer discovered that the settings of the application were resetting several times a day.

It is not clear exactly how valid these claims are, but a growing number of complaints do add some weight to it. We've reached out to Microsoft for a comment and will update the article when we hear back from them.