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Microsoft has revealed its intention to collect data from Office users about which outdated products they still use.
The company says it wants to collect data on the number of users who use the 2007, 2010 and 2013 versions of Microsoft Office.
Microsoft also said the scheme, part of the KB5021751 update, “will run silently for once without installing anything on the user’s device,” though there are still some unanswered questions about why the tech giant wants to roll out this census-type update .
Microsoft Office 2007, Office 2010 and Office 2013
“This update is intended to help Microsoft identify the number of users with an out-of-support (or soon out-of-support) version of Office,” the company said.
However The register (opens in new tab) notes the conflicting information about the company support page (opens in new tab) regarding the installation and running of the update, leading the publication to believe that the company may have copied and pasted the article poorly.
It also pointed out that the maker of Office has not provided any information about how it will collect the data and whether it will leave anything on the user’s computer.
In addition, there is the concern that some users may not even want to tell Microsoft which version of the office software they run. Although the 2007 and 2010 versions have been retired and support for the 2013 version is expected to end in April, users have ample right to continue using the unsupported software even after security patches have been removed.
In addition to this, and Office 2016, which is expected to stop receiving extended support in 2025, Microsoft is eager to push its subscription-based Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) suite, which enables regular updates as part of an ongoing plan.
Tech Radar Pro asked Microsoft about the reason for pushing an update to collect the data; an update that will be posted here if received.