Software metering monitors the usage of applications on client computers. Software metering is not enabled by default. You must configure which applications to meter. Metering information is stored in the site database. The information is encrypted during transfer to the management point but it is not stored in encrypted form in the site database. Information is retained in the database until deleted by the site maintenance tasks Delete Aged Software Metering Data (every five days) and Delete Aged Software Metering Summary Data (every 270 days). You can configure the deletion interval. Metering information is not sent back to Microsoft. Before configuring software metering, consider your privacy requirements. Some additional metering information is collected through hardware inventory. For more information, see Inventory Security Best Practices and Privacy Information.