I see occasional references to computers storing "telemetry" data. For example, Computer World just published an article about HP putting software on its computers called "HP Touchpoint Analytics Service" which collects "telemetry". What does that mean "telemetry"? What kind of data are we talking about here specifically?
1 Answer
What does that mean "telemetry"?
Wikipedia defines the word as
Telemetry is an automated communications process by which measurements and other data are collected at remote or inaccessible points and transmitted to receiving equipment for monitoring.
HP would be gathering software telemetry.
What kind of data are we talking about here specifically?
This would depend the exact piece of software generating the data. HP is likely interested in the type of data that allows them to determine the usage habits of a device. Knowing how long millions of devices are used, and how long the battery is used before it's plugged in, is the type of data that would allow engineers to create a better future product.
In other words the same type of data every other version of Windows, Android, and iOS collects. The only difference is the data was collected without user explicit consent and was enabled by default (implicit consent).
