Windows 11 Privacy Settings: What Data Microsoft Collects and How to Control It

Privacy on a modern operating system is more complex than it used to be. Windows 11 is designed to integrate tightly with Microsoft’s cloud services — OneDrive, Cortana, Bing, Microsoft Account sync, and the Feedback Hub — and many of these integrations involve sending data to Microsoft’s servers. Some of that data collection is essential for operating system functionality. Some is used to improve Microsoft’s products. And some of it you may simply not wish to participate in.

The good news is that Windows 11 gives you genuine control over most of these settings, provided you know where to look. This guide explains exactly what Microsoft collects, what you can control, what cannot be disabled, and how to configure your machine for a level of privacy that suits you — from moderate adjustments to a comprehensively locked-down configuration.

Microsoft’s Data Collection: The Basics

Microsoft collects several categories of data from Windows 11 installations. These are described in Microsoft’s privacy documentation:

Diagnostic Data

Diagnostic data (also called telemetry) is the most discussed category. Windows sends this data to Microsoft to identify software problems, improve reliability, and understand how features are being used.

Windows 11 offers two diagnostic data levels:

• Required diagnostic data (formerly Basic): The minimum needed for Windows to be secure and up to date. Includes information about your device configuration, crash data, software quality metrics, and basic usage patterns. This level cannot be disabled on consumer editions of Windows — it is always on.
• Optional diagnostic data (formerly Full): Additional data about how you use Windows features, app usage, internet browsing in Edge, and more. This can be disabled.

To change the diagnostic data level:

1. Go to Settings → Privacy & security → Diagnostics & feedback.
2. Under Diagnostic data, select Required diagnostic data only.

Activity History

Activity History logs your actions on the device — documents opened, searches made, websites visited — to power features like Windows Timeline and Cortana’s contextual suggestions. You can disable this entirely without affecting core functionality.

Location Data

Windows can track your device’s location and share it with applications and Microsoft services. Location is used by features like Weather, Maps, and Find My Device.

Advertising ID

The Advertising ID is a unique identifier assigned to your account that allows applications to show you targeted adverts and track your activity across apps. Disabling it does not remove adverts from apps but makes them contextual (based on current app content) rather than targeted (based on your inferred profile).

The Privacy & Security Settings Page: A Complete Tour

The primary control centre for privacy in Windows 11 is Settings → Privacy & security. The sections below cover each category in the order they appear.

Windows Permissions

General: Contains the Advertising ID toggle and several other settings:

• Let apps show me personalised ads by using my advertising ID — Turn off to disable the Advertising ID
• Let websites show me locally relevant content by accessing my language list — Turn off if you prefer not to share language preferences with websites
• Let Windows track app launches to improve Start and search results — Turn off to prevent Windows from using your app usage to personalise recommendations
• Show me suggested content in the Settings app — Turn off to remove Microsoft product suggestions from Settings

Speech: Controls whether Windows collects your voice input to improve speech recognition services. If you do not use Cortana, Windows Voice Typing, or other voice features, turn this off.

Inking & typing personalisation: Windows learns your handwriting and typing habits to improve autocomplete and personalisation. Turn off the Personal inking and typing dictionary switch to prevent this data from being stored.

Diagnostics & feedback: As discussed above, set to Required diagnostic data only. Additional settings here:

• Improve inking and typing — Sends your handwriting and typing samples to Microsoft. Turn off.
• Tailored experiences — Uses diagnostic data to show you personalised tips and suggestions in Windows. Turn off.
• View diagnostic data — If you are curious, you can enable the Diagnostic Data Viewer to see exactly what Required diagnostic data looks like.
• Feedback frequency — Set to Never to stop Windows from asking for feedback on features.

Activity history: Turn off Store my activity history on this device and ensure your account is not listed under Send my activity history to Microsoft.

Search permissions: Controls Bing search integration in the Start menu and Windows Search.

• SafeSearch: Filtering level for web searches in Bing.
• Cloud content search: Controls whether Windows searches your Microsoft Account content (OneDrive, emails, etc.) when you search in the Start menu. Disable Microsoft account search here if you prefer Start menu search to remain local only.
• Search highlights: Disabling removes the illustrated search suggestions that appear in Windows Search.

App Permissions

The App permissions section is one of the most important areas. It mirrors the permission management on smartphones: each sensor or data source has its own toggle, and you can see which specific apps have requested access.

Work through each category:

• Location: Disable system-wide location, or enable system location but control which apps can access it. Review the per-app list and turn off location for any app that does not have a clear need for it.
• Camera: Disable camera access for apps that do not need it. A notepad app has no business accessing your camera.
• Microphone: Similarly, restrict microphone access to only the apps that genuinely need it (video calling, voice recording). Many apps request microphone access speculatively.
• Voice activation: Controls whether apps can be triggered by voice commands even when in the background.
• Notifications: Controls whether apps can access your notifications. Disable for apps that have no reason to read other apps’ notifications.
• Account info: Controls which apps can access your name, picture, and other Microsoft account information.
• Contacts: Controls access to your contacts list.
• Calendar: Controls access to your calendar.
• Call history: Controls access to phone call history (relevant on devices with Phone Link).
• Email: Controls which apps can access and send email.
• Tasks: Controls access to your tasks in Microsoft To Do.
• Messaging: Controls access to SMS messages (via Phone Link).
• Documents, Pictures, Videos, Downloads: Controls which apps can access these library folders in your user profile.
• File system: A broad access level that covers any file the app might request. Grant sparingly.

Microsoft Account and Sync Settings

If you use a Microsoft account rather than a local account, Windows 11 syncs several categories of data across your devices. Manage this at Settings → Accounts → Windows backup and Settings → Accounts → Sign-in options.

Sync settings include passwords, language preferences, accessibility settings, and other Windows customisations. If you prefer these to stay local, disable Remember my apps and Remember my preferences under Settings → Accounts → Windows backup.

Browser Privacy: Microsoft Edge

Microsoft Edge, Windows 11’s default browser, has its own set of privacy settings separate from the OS-level settings. Access them at edge://settings/privacy. Key settings to configure:

• Tracking prevention: Set to Strict for maximum protection. This blocks most third-party trackers on websites you visit.
• Personalise your web experience: Disabling this stops Edge from using your browsing history to personalise adverts, news, and other content.
• Diagnostic data: Disable to stop Edge from sending usage data to Microsoft.
• Improve search and news: Disable the option to allow Microsoft to use your search history for Bing improvements.
• Microsoft Defender SmartScreen: Keep this enabled — it protects against phishing and malicious downloads and does not share significant personal data.

Search and Cortana Privacy

Cortana in Windows 11 is significantly more limited than in Windows 10 — it is no longer the primary search interface. However, the Windows Search integration with Bing still sends your search queries to Microsoft by default.

To keep Start menu searches local only:

1. Go to Settings → Privacy & security → Search permissions.
2. Under Cloud content search, turn off both Microsoft account and Work or school account.

Note that this does not affect web searches you perform manually in a browser — only searches initiated through the Start menu search bar.

What Cannot Be Disabled

To set appropriate expectations: some data collection in Windows 11 cannot be disabled on consumer editions:

• Required diagnostic data is always sent to Microsoft. This includes crash data, hardware configuration, and basic feature telemetry. It cannot be turned off on Windows 11 Home or Pro.
• Windows Update communications: Windows must communicate with Microsoft servers to check for and download updates. This is non-negotiable for a secure system.
• Windows Activation: Windows periodically verifies activation status with Microsoft servers.
• Microsoft Defender: Submits suspicious files and programme metadata to Microsoft for cloud-based analysis. You can configure how aggressively it submits samples, but not disable it entirely without losing protection.

For users who require zero telemetry — a requirement in some regulated industries — Windows 11 Enterprise edition with the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) provides the ability to set diagnostic data to Security level, which is lower than Required. This is not available on Home or Pro editions.

Additional Privacy Hardening Steps

• Disable Lock Screen Suggestions: Settings → Personalisation → Lock screen → turn off Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen.
• Disable Suggested Apps in Start Menu: Settings → Personalisation → Start → turn off Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more.
• Clear and disable Activity History: Settings → Privacy & security → Activity history → clear activity history and disable storage.
• Review Connected Accounts: Settings → Accounts → Email & accounts → review any third-party accounts (Google, iCloud) that are connected to Windows and remove those no longer needed.
• Audit App Permissions Periodically: App permissions change as new software is installed. Review the permissions list every few months and revoke access for apps that no longer need it.

Conclusion

Windows 11’s privacy settings are more comprehensive than most users realise. The defaults lean towards Microsoft’s interest in collecting usage data for product improvement, but the controls to change this are genuine and effective. Working through the Privacy & security settings page methodically — the General section, each app permission category, and the diagnostic data settings — takes about 30 minutes and results in a meaningfully more private configuration.

Crucially, none of the privacy adjustments described here compromise the security or functionality of Windows 11. Keeping Windows Defender, Windows Update, and Required diagnostic data enabled ensures a secure, functional system while giving you control over the optional data sharing that goes beyond what is necessary.

Windows 11 Professional from GetRenewedTech (£18.99) adds Group Policy tools that allow organisations to enforce consistent privacy settings across an entire fleet of machines — ensuring that your company’s privacy policy is actually applied, not just recommended.