Here are the top highlights in Microsoft’s new update

Apr 23, 2018 12:43 GMT  ·  By

Windows 10 Redstone 4, also known as Windows 10 version 1803 or more recently as Windows 10 April 2018 Update, doesn’t come with too many completely new features, but instead, it sports a plethora of smaller changes here and there that refine the performance with the OS.

In other words, no, there might not be so many breaking new features in this update, but the refinements that Microsoft is pushing to users this time are really worth trying.

And there are plenty of them, though I’d say there are three that you’d find particularly useful – of course, we’re going to detail other smaller touches in more stories soon, but the ones here are without a doubt worth some time.

Local account recovery on the lock screen

Microsoft introduced options to recover user accounts from the Windows 10 lock screen with the release of Fall Creators Update, and with the April 2018 Update, the company goes a step further.

With this version, users can recover local accounts from the lock screen as well, which means that you should no longer be locked out even if you forget the password.

The process is as easy as it was for Microsoft accounts, and you only need to click the “I forgot my password/PIN” option right under the password box on the lock screen to begin the recovery process.

Everything has been designed to be very straightforward and intuitive, so you’re going to be provided with a bunch of steps to assist you throughout the process. If you configured security questions, this is the time you should remember the answers because you need to provide them in order to reset the password.

Disk Cleanup and font settings

Windows 10 April 2018 Update continues Microsoft’s efforts to make the Settings app the one destination for everything.

One of the features that are part of the Settings app is Disk Cleanup, which lets you remove unnecessary files from the system and free up space on the local drives. Disk Cleanup has been moved under System > Storage > Free up space now and it comes with the essential feature package to remove files that eat up your storage, including Windows upgrade log files, system-created Windows Error Reporting files, Windows Defender Antivirus data, and Recycle Bin items.

Windows 10 fonts in Settings app

Pretty much everything that could be cleaned by the classic Disk Cleanup tool is now available in Settings, all with a very clean UI and info like a description of each item to be removed and how much space it needs on the drive.

And there’s more in the Settings app this time. Microsoft has also moved fonts from Control Panel to Settings > Personalization > Fonts, and you can view the available fonts, see all faces, change size, and uninstall any item. You can also go to the Microsoft Store to download new fonts.

Improved privacy

Windows 10 has been one very controversial release in terms of privacy, as many accused Microsoft of spying on users and collecting way too much data from systems upgraded to this OS.

Since then, however, the company has been constantly looking into ways to improve privacy, and the April 2018 Update comes with tools to let users see the data collected from their PCs and even delete it.

Windows 10 diagnostic and feedback

These features are available in Settings > Diagnostics & feedback > Diagnostic data viewer / Delete Diagnostic data. Microsoft says that in order to view diagnostic data, some info is stored on the system, and it can take up to 1GB on the hard drive.

Deleting diagnostic data is an easy thing to do because you only have to click the dedicated Delete button in the Settings app and everything completes in a second.

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Windows 10 April Update brings several new feature refinements
Windows 10 diagnostic and feedbackWindows 10 fonts in Settings app
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