Disable Windows 8 Data Capture

There are many articles online on this topic, but I am writing this to add more info on the topic, as many have missed more places which can be disabled.

Microsoft released several updates to windows that have added many tracking and data capturing by default. These can be opted out.

For those who do not want to be tracked you can follow the below steps:

(Please note be careful when changing any settings, the writer of this article is not responsible for any harm to your PC.)

• Uninstall updates
  
  Uninstall the following updates from windows update: KB 3022345, 3068708, 3075249, and 3080149. (If you don’t want to mess with this, follow below steps).
  
  
• Manually disable
  
  Go to Control Panel - All Control Panel Items - Action Center– change action center settings – customer experience improvement program settings.
  
  
  
  Then click No and save changes.
  
  
  
  
• Disable location data capture
  
  Go to Control Panel - All Control Panel Items, Location Settings.
  
  Then uncheck "Help improve Microsoft location services" and click Apply.
  
  
  
  
• Disable Windows store data capture
  
  Go to Windows Store - Settings, then Preferences- Set the following checkboxes to No.
  
  
  
  
• Disable Windows Store Apps data capture
  
  Go to 'Change PC settings', then Privacy.
  
  
  
  General, then set the following checkboxes to No.
  
  
  
  Go back to Change PC Settings and select Search and apps – Don’t get personalized results from Bing.
  
  
  
  
• Disable smart screen filter
  (Do this only if you use a different browser than Internet Explorer)
  
  Open Internet Explorer, then Tools – SmartScreen Filter and then Turn off SmartScreen Filter:
  
  
  
  Turn off SmartScreen Filter
  (This could lead to a security issue if you don’t have a proper anti-malware software).
  
  

Note:

Turning of settings is your choice, this article is only for providing information. The writer of this article has nothing against Microsoft or its products.