Which further goes to prove that Cortana is more about data collection than it is about users wants, needs, etc.
Actually it doesn't prove that at all. There isn't even 'proof' that the data collected does anything other than help MS improve the services Cortana provides to the user. Let's not feed the tinfoil hats more than is necessary...... 
Yes, but you've had a love affair with Cortana since she first appeared on the scene, so obviously you're not going to hear anything bad about her.... or believe that her data collection is more than just improving the provision of services. I mean, why else would MS hard-code Cortana and advertising into Explorer if it didn't benefit and profit from users data... damned intrusive advertising?
Oh, and it has nothing to do with tinfoil hats. MS has installed a for-profit setup within the Win 10 OS that may have some benefits for users [who wish to avail themselves of it], but the benefits to MS far outweigh those for users. An OS was always a tool for PC users to run their programs and businesses, etc, but MS has taken the OS in an entirely different direction that includes things that should never ever be there.
Worse still, if a user [who values their privacy and wishes to be ad free] happens to disable those 'features', the OS will irreparably shut down and cannot be restarted.... period. That does NOT gel well as being user related or an improvement of services, but rather, they're bully-boy tactics that force more unwanted crap on users to benefit a power hungry corporation with little to no respect for its customers.
Put bluntly, the walls around the MS garden are getting higher, and with no garden gate [viable alternative], MS continues to abuse users trust and respect, which is at an all-time low because MS betrayed of millions of Win 7 and 8.1 users when it forced Windows 10 down their throats.
