Controlling Office 365 ProPlus Diagnostic Data

• Organizations will be able to control some diagnostic data that Office 365 ProPlus applications send to Microsoft.
• The controls can help comply with privacy regulations.
• Turning diagnostic data off completely can cause downtime or block security updates.

Starting with Office 365 ProPlus version 1904, organizations will gain the limited ability to control the amount of diagnostic data Office desktop applications send to Microsoft, which can include personally identifiable information. This may help organizations comply with existing privacy regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and pending regulations such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).

Diagnostic Data

Microsoft collects diagnostic data (sometimes called telemetry data) from Office 365 ProPlus and Windows 10 for a variety of purposes. Microsoft uses this data to troubleshoot problems, monitor system health, and improve user experience. These uses may directly benefit the customer. However, such data also provides Microsoft with insights into product use, which could result in features being added, removed, or moved between different plans as the company monetizes its hosted service offerings in the future. Those uses may benefit Microsoft more than its customers.