Win10 SpyStop

The telemetry features of Windows 10 have brought privacy protection to the spotlight, many arguing that Microsoft does not have the right to collect so many information about Windows users. The response has been rather prompt: there are now various alternatives when it comes to disabling those features and avoid sending usage and behavior information to Microsoft's servers.

Win10 SpyStop is one of the applications you can opt for if you want to block telemetry functions in Windows 10 and thus, prevent the collection of data. The application comes with various options you can tamper with, implementing various data protection mechanisms.

Depending on your choices, its main window shows the protection status of both important and optional mechanisms. With the push of a button, you can activate all of them, or you can switch over to the 'Privacy' tab to select the options you find are more suited for your situation.

While the array of functions Win10 SpyStop comes with is rather limited, the application does feature options to disable advertising identification, data telemetry, diagnostic tracing, and remote access. It can block outgoing connections to over fifty maintenance and diagnosis servers. All of these options are part of the privacy protection mechanism.

The extra protection mechanism can deactivate Windows updates upon request, disable automatic web search (including Cortana voice recordings), as well as block the sharing of browsing history to allow Edge to remember visited pages.

Win10 SpyStop can disable functions in Windows that might put your privacy at risk. It blocks Windows and its apps to send information back home, protecting your data. Unfortunately, there is no magic button for restoring all the settings. Nevertheless, Win10 SpyStop creates a restore point during setup, so you can revert to a previously working state in case something happens.