Windows uses delta/differential updates for monthly “quality” updates[1] because it uses less bandwidth than big-blob updates. For diffed updates to work effic

Windows uses delta/differential updates for monthly “quality” updates[1] because it uses less bandwidth than big-blob updates. For diffed updates to work efficiently Windows first works out what hardware/software you have. Then it can either: 1. Send info about the system to an update server and let the server decide what updates it needs. 2. Download a big manifest of all available updates (as you describe) and calculate locally what updates it needs. Either way, Windows then has to make a request for updates specific to the system, at which point you reveal info about your software and hardware that you were attempting to hide in (2) anyway. For the semi-annual feature updates, the process is more like you describe where there's a compatibility check then a large download (~3-6GB) containing all new features, even if your system won't be able to make use of all of them. [1] https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/update/psfxwhitepaper https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/update/p...