Windows 10 update pulled after driving a coach and horses through users' privacy settings

Windows 10 beset with questions over privacy, once again

Microsoft has pulled its latest update for Windows 10 - version 1511 - after users reported that it changed their privacy settings without their consent. The 10 November update was removed last week without explanation.

Four privacy settings were reset to their default settings when users installed the update, overriding the choices of users who wished to minimise the level of information about their operating system, how they use their machine and other "telemetry" sent back to the software giant in Seattle, Washington State.

The settings governed whether apps could use a unique advertising identifier, the apps allowed to run in the background, Smartscreen web filtering - which requires web browsing information to be sent back to Microsoft - and synchronisation settings between devices.

Users were not notified of the change in settings during the update process. Windows 10 version 1511 is a cumulative update, which means that all previous patches and fixes were also rolled up into the update.

Microsoft has released a KnowledgeBase article acknowledging the issue, and released another update, KB3120677, which is intended to address the problem.

"Recently, we learned of an issue that could have impacted an extremely small number of people who had already installed Windows 10 and applied the November update (Version 1511). When the November update was installed, a few settings preferences may have inadvertently not been retained for advertising ID, Background apps, SmartScreen Filter, and Sync with devices," advised Microsoft.

It continued: "For those customers who previously installed the November update (Version 1511), we are working to help restore their previous settings over the coming days and we apologize for the inconvenience. In the meantime, users interested in checking their settings can find them by going to 'Settings', then selecting 'Privacy'."

According to reports, upgrades from Windows 7 and 8 are still including the November update - a process that does not affect privacy settings as they will be running it for the first time.

The incident is one of a string of privacy issues raised over Windows 10, which can send back a copious amounts of information to the software giant, depending on the settings. Initially, changing the privacy settings on Windows 10 was an awkward process, according to some upgraders, but Microsoft has since simplified the process.

In August, a Russian law firm called on the country's Prosecutor General to "review" the legal status of Windows 10 in Russia. That followed an outcry in July, shortly after the operating system was released, over the level of information that could be sent back to Microsoft, by default, by the new operating system.