Securing Your Windows 8 Computer : Maintaining Your Privacy

But on the flip side of all this togetherness is a question. How do these apps share this info, and how much do you really want to turn loose out there in cyberspace? Windows 8 lets you determine whether you want your apps to communicate with each other and share information about you—such as your location or content URLs from the apps you use—with others interested in gathering it.

>>>step-by-step: Setting Location Privacy

So how skittish are you about your computer letting people know where you are? Most of us range somewhere between “I don’t care at all” to “I like to keep my whereabouts to myself.” With the prevalence of mapping apps, check-in utilities, and real-time weather tools, we have gotten used to the idea that some applications need to know where we are before they can provide us with the helpful information we want.

1. On the Windows 8 Start screen, display the Charms bar.

2. Tap or click Settings.

3. Click or tap More PC Settings.

4. Tap or click Privacy in the list on the left side of the PC Settings window.

5. If you want to disable the location sharing that goes on among your apps, slide the top slider to the left, to the Off position.

6. To keep your name and account picture private, slide the second setting to the Off position.

7. To stop sending content URLs to the Windows Store, drag the bottom slider to the Off position.

>>> Go Further: What’s in a Privacy Statement?

You can read through the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Windows Server 8 Beta Privacy Statement (yes, it’s a mouthful, but that’s the title), by clicking the Privacy Statement link on the Privacy page of the PC Settings page.

When you click the link, you are taken online to the Windows page where the statement is posted. This statement explains what personal information is gathered, what your choices are about it, and how the information is used.