5 Privacy Settings You Should Change in Windows 11

Here are some easy privacy settings every Windows 11 user must change or disable to better protect their privacy.

Unlike previous versions, Windows 11 phones home frequently to share a ton of data with Microsoft about the operating system, usage behavior, installed applications, location data, and more. As such, you also have a ton of privacy settings you can configure to better control what type of data you are willing to send to Microsoft. For example, Microsoft enables sharing Optional Diagnostic Data and showing Suggested Apps in the Start menu out of the box. These options are not necessary to run Windows 11. As such, if you don’t like them, you can disable these options in the Privacy section of Windows 11.

With all the privacy settings in Windows 11, it can be unclear which to enable and disable. To help you guide, I listed a few core privacy settings that every Windows 11 user should check and disable as needed. Go through each and disable it as shown. Let’s get started.

Quick navigation links:

• Disable advertising ID and Suggested Content
• Disable online speech recognition
• Disable Personalized Offers
• Turn off sending optional diagnostic data
• Turn off location tracking
• Turn off Activity History

1. Disable Advertising ID and Suggested Content

Microsoft assigns a unique Advertising ID to every Windows 11 user. It then uses this ID to show personalized ads and product recommendations. In addition, Windows 11 has an option called Suggested Content in the Settings app that shows occasional ads and info about new features directly in the Settings app.

Here’s how to disable both these options in Windows 11.

Turn off the Advertising ID in Windows 11:

1. Open the Settings app by pressing “Windows key + I“.
2. Go to the “Privacy & Security” page.
3. Click the “Recommendations & offers” option.
4. Turn OFF the “Advertising ID” toggle.
5. Close the Settings app.

Turn off Suggested Content in Settings:

1. Open the Settings app by pressing “Windows key + I“.
2. Go to the “Privacy & Security” page.
3. Click the “Recommendations & offers” option.
4. Turn OFF the “Recommendations and offers in Settings” toggle.
5. Close the Settings app.

2. Disable Online Speech Recognition

Online speech recognition is enabled by default in Windows 11. When this feature is turned on, Microsoft can use the microphone in your laptop or headset to get your speech data under certain circumstances, such as voice dictation and speech recognition.

Generally, most Windows users never use voice recognition, voice dictation, or speech recognition. If you are one of them, there is no need to have Speech Recognition enabled. The good thing is, even after disabling the Online Speech Recognition, you can still use the built-in Windows Speech Recognition (Offline). It won’t be as accurate, but it will be there in a pinch.

Here’s how to disable online speech recognition in Windows 11.

1. Open the Settings app by pressing “Windows key + I“.
2. Go to the “Privacy & Security” page.
3. Click the “Speech” option.
4. Turn OFF the “Online speech recognition” option.
5. Close the Settings app.

3. Disable Personalized Offers

The personalized offers feature uses optional diagnostic data to show relevant ads, personalized tips, and app recommendations in the Start menu. For example, you might see recommended apps in the Start menu. Clicking these apps will automatically download and install the target app from the Microsoft Store on Windows 11. Candy Crush, Adobe apps, etc., are good examples.

If you don’t like this behavior, you can disable Personalized Offers from the Settings app. Here is how to do it.

1. Open the Settings app by pressing “Windows key + I“.
2. Go to the “Privacy & Security” page.
3. Click the “Recommendations & offers” option.
4. Turn OFF the “Personalized Offers” toggle.
5. Close the Settings app.

4. Turn Off Sending Optional Diagnostic Data

Microsoft requires diagnostic data to make Windows work without any hiccups. By default, Microsoft requires sharing basic, essential diagnostic data. However, Microsoft may sometimes enable the sending of optional diagnostic data. It includes but is not limited to browsing activity, app launches, enhanced error reporting, app usage, etc.

If you don’t want to share extensive diagnostic data with Microsoft, you must turn off the Optional Diagnostic Data option. Here’s how:

1. Open the Settings app by pressing “Windows key + I“.
2. Go to the “Privacy & Security” page.
3. Click the “Diagnostics & feedback” option.
4. Turn OFF the “Send optional diagnostic data” option.
5. Close the Settings app.

5. Turn Off Location Tracking

Unless your laptop has GPS, the location-tracking feature is pretty unhelpful, as it cannot provide the exact location of your device. However, it is very helpful to Microsoft to show targeted ads, promotions, and more. Here’s how you can disable the location tracking feature in Windows 11.

1. Open the Settings app by pressing “Windows key + I“.
2. Go to the “Privacy & Security” page.
3. Scroll down the right panel and click the “Location” option.
4. Turn OFF the “Location service” toggle.
5. Close the Settings app.

6. Turn Off Activity History (Deprecated)

Note: Activity History is no longer available in Windows 11 25H2.

When using a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows 11, the Activity History feature tracks what you do on your computer and stores it in your Microsoft account. Microsoft then uses the stored Activity History to resume your workflow on other computers. As you can guess, if you have multiple Windows computers, this is an excellent feature as you don’t have to start the workflow all over again.

However, if you are not comfortable sharing your activity history with Microsoft or if you don’t have multiple devices or don’t want to use the feature, you can disable it from the Windows 11 Privacy Settings. Here’s how.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to the “Privacy & Security” page.
3. Click on “Activity History”.
4. Uncheck the “Store my activity history on this device” checkbox.
5. Close the Settings app.

That is all. These are the few privacy settings that every Windows 11 user should check and change according to their needs. If you think I missed any other crucial privacy settings or if you need any help, then comment below, and I will respond happily.