Windows 11 offers a wide range of features designed to enhance user experience, but many of these rely on collecting and analyzing your personal data.
From personalized ads to activity tracking, Microsoft gathers information to tailor its services, which may raise privacy concerns for some users.
Fortunately, you can take control of your privacy by adjusting specific settings within Windows 11.
This guide walks you through various methods to reduce or stop Microsoft from tracking your activities on your device.
Stop Microsoft From Tracking You in Windows 11
Follow the methods to stop Microsoft from tracking you in Windows 11.
1. Disable Personalized Ads
Disabling Personalized Ads prevents Microsoft from showing you personalized ads based on your activity. Here’s how to do it:
- Open Settings by pressing Win + I.
- Go to Privacy & Security.
- Click on General under the “Windows permissions” section.
- Turn off Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID.
- Next, Turn off Let websites show me locally relevant content by accessing my language list.
- Next, turn off Show me suggested content in the Settings app. Then you can also turn off Show me notifications in the Settings app if you don’t want the notifications bother you.
2. Disable Tailored Experiences
Windows 11 may use your activity to provide tailored experiences across Microsoft services. Here’s how you can disable it:
- Access Windows Settings.
- Navigate to “Privacy & security”.
- Select “Diagnostics & feedback”.
- Next, toggle off the Send optional diagnostic data. Then look for the “Tailored experiences” option. Expand the option.
- Toggle the switch off to disable tailored experiences.
- Next head to Delete diagnostic data and choose to Delete it. Confirm if prompted.
3. Turn off Activity Tracking
Next, you can disable Activity tracking in Settings.
- To do that, open Windows Settings. Then select Privacy & Security. Then Diagnostics & feedback.
- Under Windows Permissions Activity History.
- Now toggle off the Store my activity on this PC option.
4. Adjust App Permissions
To further protect your privacy, you can manage which apps have access to certain features on your device. Here’s how:
- Open Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security.
- Scroll down to the App permissions section.
- Choose the specific category you’d like to adjust, such as Camera, Microphone, or Contacts.
- Inside the chosen category, you’ll see a list of apps that have access to this feature. Like here we are selecting the Camera first.
- Now here, toggle the switch next to each app to disable or enable its access.
Repeat these steps for any other permissions you want to manage. This allows you to have greater control over how apps interact with your device.
5. Disable Find My Device
- Next, disable the Find my device options. To do so, in Settings, go to Privacy & Security then Find My Device.
- Now, turn off Find My Device to stop sharing location data with Microsoft.
6. Turn on Microsoft Edge Tracking Prevention
To boost your privacy while browsing, you can enable Tracking Prevention in Microsoft Edge. Here’s how to do it:
- Open Microsoft Edge, click the three-dot menu then select Settings then Privacy, Search, and Services.
- Enable Tracking Prevention and choose Balanced or Strict for enhanced privacy.
7. Delete Activity Tracking Data from Microsoft Account
If you want to remove the data Microsoft collects about your activity, follow these steps to delete it from your account:
- Go to account.microsoft.com and log in.
- Click on Privacy.
- Verify with the code sent to your inbox when prompted.
- Then scroll to the Empower your productivity option.
- Clear data under the following groups – Location, Browsing and search App & Services, etc.
- For each group, click Clear All activities option or Clear performance data option.
- Then select Clear.
This should help you reduce the amount of data Microsoft collects from your Windows 11 device.
Wrapping Up
By following these steps, you can significantly limit the amount of personal data Microsoft collects through Windows 11. Disabling personalized ads, managing app permissions, turning off tracking features, and adjusting browser settings are all effective ways to protect your privacy.
While it may not be possible to completely eliminate data collection, taking these measures ensures you maintain greater control over your digital footprint and personal information.
