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How To Turn On or Off Diagnostic Data in Windows 11

Windows 11 automatically sends diagnostic data to Microsoft servers for tracking and troubleshooting. Here is how to turn on or off diagnostic data in Windows 11.

Since Windows 8, the operating system automatically sends diagnostic data to the Microsoft servers regularly. Microsoft then uses this diagnostic data to learn and improve the overall Windows 10 and 11 experience.

For example, If Windows 11 or one of your installed apps constantly crashes, Microsoft receives that crash details in its automatic diagnostic data. That way, Microsoft can learn and fix any issues with the Windows operating system in the next update. Microsoft also gets diagnostic data regarding how you use the operating system and its various apps and features.

You should know that when your computer sends the diagnostic data, it uses one or more unique identifiers. That means Microsoft can use these unique identifiers to distinguish your system from other computers.

If you want to help Microsoft or if you don’t like to send optional diagnostics data, you can turn on or off diagnostic data in Windows 11. It is pretty easy to do. Let me show you how.

Table of contents:

Important note: It is mandatory to send required diagnostic data. You cannot turn it off. You can only choose whether to send optional diagnostic data or not.

What information does the Diagnostic Data contain?

Windows 11 sends two types of diagnostic data. They are the Required Diagnostic Data and Optional Diagnostic Data.

Required diagnostic data: This is the mandatory minimal diagnostic data your computer sends to Microsoft servers. You cannot turn off sending the Required Diagnostic Data. It includes info regarding Windows settings, device settings, hardware details and capabilities, application crashes, etc. According to Microsoft, this diagnostic data is required to keep Windows 11 reliable and secure.

Optional diagnostic data: This is the additional diagnostic data you can choose to send to Microsoft. It includes information like installed software, device health, enhanced error reporting, memory state, system and app crashes, system usage, and more.

Turn on or off diagnostic data from the Settings

You can enable or disable it. i.e., turn on or off diagnostic data in Windows 11 using the Settings app. All it takes is toggling a single option, and you are done. Here is how.

  1. Use “Start key + I” to open Settings.
  2. Choose “Privacy & Security” on the sidebar.
  3. Click on “Diagnostics & feedback.”
  4. Turn on the “Send optional diagnostic data” option to enable diagnostic data.
  5. Turn off the “Send optional diagnostic data” option to disable diagnostic data.
  6. Settings are saved automatically.
  7. Close the Settings app.
  8. With that, you have changed diagnostic data in Windows 11.

Steps with more details:

Use the “Start key + I” keyboard shortcut to open Windows 11 PC Settings. Choose the “Privacy & Security” tab on the sidebar. As you can guess, this page contains all the options related to Windows 11 privacy settings.

Click on the “Diagnostic & feedback” option on the “Privacy & Security” page.

open diagnostic and feedback settings

To turn on the sending diagnostic data in Windows 11, toggle the “Optional diagnostic data” option to the “ON” position.

turn on diagnostic data in Windows 11

To turn off the sending diagnostic data in Windows 11, toggle the “Optional diagnostic data” option to the “OFF” position.

turn off diagnostic data in Windows 11

The settings are automatically saved and applied. You can safely close the Settings app.

Turn on or off diagnostic data using Group Policy

If you manage multiple computers or as an alternative method, you can modify the Group Policy to turn on or off diagnostic data in Windows 11. This method is handy if you want to enforce the rule and block users from modifying the option via the Settings app.

Search for “Edit group policy” in the Start menu and open it. You can also use the run command “gpedit.msc” to open Group Policy Editor.

Go to the “Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Data Collection and Preview Builds” folder in the Group Policy Editor. This is where you will find all the policies related to data collection, diagnostics, and preview builds.

data collection and preview builds policy

Find the “Allow Diagnostic Data” policy on the right page and double-click on it.

open allow diagnostic data policy

Now, do the following depending on what you need.

Turn on optional diagnostic data in Windows 11: Choose “Enabled” and select the “Send optional diagnostic data” option from the dropdown menu.

turn on diagnostic data in Windows 11 via group policy

Turn off diagnostic data in Windows 11: Choose “Enabled” and select the “Diagnostic data off” option from the dropdown menu.

turn off diagnostic data in Windows 11 via group policy

Click the “Apply” and “Ok” buttons to save changes.

Finally, close the Group Policy Editor and reboot the computer to apply the policy you just modified. If you don’t want to reboot, open Command Prompt as admin, type “gpupdate /force,” and press Enter. This command forcefully updates all group policy settings.

Once you have done that, the diagnostic data setting is changed.

That is all. It is that simple to change diagnostic data settings in Windows 11. i.e., you can turn on or off diagnostic data with a single click.

I hope this simple and easy Windows how-to guide helped you.

If you are stuck or need some help, comment below, and I will try to help as much as possible.

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