There’s a curious Microsoft update which is checking for older versions of Office that are either out of support (Office 2007, Office 2010) or will soon stop getting updates (Office 2013 expires in April 2023). Microsoft isn’t being entirely open about the update and the private data being grabbed from customers.
KB5021751 is said by Microsoft to “…identify the number of users running out-of-support (or soon to be out-of-support) versions of Office, including Office 2013, Office 2010, and Office 2007. “
What exact data is Microsoft receiving from each computer? It’s unlikely just to be what version of Office is installed. More likely it’ll include details of the Windows, location etc. All information that Microsoft should be open about receiving
According to Microsoft the update runs just one time silently without installing anything on the user’s device.
Which versions of Windows get this update?
It seems the download is only for Windows 11, Windows 10 and maybe Windows 8.1? Microsoft’s ‘info’ page for KB5021751 doesn’t say.
That’s important because these earlier Office releases work also work on Windows 7 and Windows XP. We’ve seen no sign of KB5021751 being installed on our older machines that we keep for testing.
Any statistics Microsoft gathers about older Office users won’t be a reliable count because not everyone updates their computer software as regularly as Microsoft wants, assuming people can afford it.
A pity that Microsoft continues to only reveal to paying customers the minimum the company thinks is necessary and no more.
