Intel’s latest graphics driver includes Telemetry

Computer users who operate devices with Intel graphics processing units may soon have Telemetry collected by the driver, reported to Intel and potentially shared with Intel partners.

To make matters even less user friendly, installation of the latest graphics driver mayinstall the Telemetry collecting component automatically. In other words, as soon as the driver is installed or updated, Telemetry starts to be collected on the device.

Our colleagues over at Techpowerup were the first to report on the addition of Telemetry. While they report that the Telemetry component was installed automatically, which means turned on after installation of the driver, Intel contacted them stating that the Telemetry component should be opt-in.

It is unclear who is right at this point, but users who run devices with Intel graphics cards may want to select custom during installation to make sure that the responsible component is disabled.

Intel uses the euphemistic term Computing Improvement Program for its Telemetry collecting service. A dedicated webpage on Intel’s website lists the data that Intel collects if a device participates in the program. The list is quite long and it includes, among other information, the following data:

Computer system information, including device manufacturer, CPU model, memory and display configuration, version of the operating system, software versions, region and language settings.
Information about other devices in the computing environment.
The categories of websites visited.
How the computer is used (pretty vague).
Software usage, e.g., frequency and duration of application usage.
Feature usage, e.g., how much RAM is used.

Data collected by Intel is linked to a randomly generated unique identifier stored on the user’s device.

Intel claims that it does not collect personal by default, including names, email addresses, IP addresses or MAC addresses, and URLs of websites visited.

Intel may share the data with Intel partners. These partners are “required to keep this information confidential and limit usage in accordance with your consent” according to Intel.

Intel users who want to remove the Computing Improvement Program from their Windows device may do so in the following way:

Open Start, type Control Panel and launch the Windows Control Panel from the results.
Select Uninstall a Program under Programs.
Locate Intel Computing Improvement Program in the list. You may sort it alpha-numerically or by data to find the application quickly.
Select Intel Computing Improvement Program and then Uninstall at the top. You may also right-click on the application’s name and select uninstall from the context menu.
Follow the uninstallation dialog until the program is removed from the system. You may need to allow the closing of opened applications during the dialog.

The Telemetry component has been added to the Beta version of Intel’s GPU driver version 101.4578. Nvidia and AMD are also collecting Telemetry. Nvidia installs the data gathering software automatically alongside its GeForce software. Apps like NV Updater, NVSlimmer and NVCleanstall provide options to remove unwanted components.

Closing Words

Intel users who run devices with Intel graphic cards should check the custom installation option during driver updates and installs to make sure that the Telemetry component does not get installed, if it is not wanted.

Now You: do you customize driver installations?

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