Windows 11 Collects Your Data by Default: Privacy Settings Guide
Windows 11 ships with data collection turned on. Here's where to find every privacy toggle, what each one does, and what you shouldn't disable.
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Antyweb reminded us of something most Windows 11 users forget about five minutes after installation: the default privacy settings are configured to send data to Microsoft, not to keep it on your machine. Some of these features can be disabled in a few clicks without breaking anything. Below is a list of toggles, the order to go through them, and an honest breakdown of what actually makes a difference.
What This Means for You
If you installed Windows 11 quickly and clicked “Next” through the setup screens, you probably have optional diagnostic data, personalized ads, and activity history enabled. Going through the Privacy & security section takes about ten minutes and requires no additional software.
What this won’t fix: disabling these options doesn’t cut you off from telemetry completely. Microsoft collects required diagnostic data that can’t be disabled from regular settings in the Home edition. This isn’t a choice between surveillance and complete privacy - it’s a choice between the default setting and the minimal setting.
Where Everything Lives
Most toggles are in one place: Settings → Privacy & security. The section is divided into two parts - Windows permissions (telemetry, ads, activity) and app permissions (location, camera, microphone, contacts).
The first part is what Antyweb’s article discusses and what’s worth focusing on. The second works like Android or iOS - you browse a list of permissions and revoke access from apps that don’t need it. If you’ve never looked there, check Location and Microphone while you’re at it, because that’s where you’ll most often find programs that got access during installation and never gave it back.
Toggles Ranked by Impact
Not all privacy options in Windows 11 carry the same weight. Below is a breakdown based on the scope of data they cover.
| Setting | What It Does | Worth Disabling? |
|---|---|---|
| Optional diagnostic data | Sends information about websites visited, apps used, and crashes | Yes - this is the single biggest change |
| Advertising ID | Lets apps personalize ads | Yes - ads remain but stop being targeted |
| Activity history | Records what you use and sends it to your Microsoft account | Yes, if you don’t use cross-device sync |
| Tailored experiences | Tips and Microsoft product ads in the system | Yes - fewer interruptions in Start menu |
| Online speech recognition | Processes voice commands in the cloud | Yes, if you don’t use dictation |
| Required diagnostic data | Basic system telemetry | Can’t be disabled in Settings |
This is our assessment of priorities, not Microsoft’s position. The source article doesn’t provide a detailed hierarchy or numbers describing how much data flows through which channel - we simply don’t have that data.
What You Shouldn’t Disable
When cleaning up settings, it’s easy to fall into “disable everything” mode and then spend an evening figuring out why something doesn’t work. Three things worth leaving on:
Find my device. Yes, it uses location. But if someone steals your laptop, it’s the only feature that gives you any chance of tracking it down. For a desktop computer - feel free to disable it.
Location access for your browser. Blocking it at the system level will make maps and local service searches stop working properly. Better to leave the system permission on and decide about location per site in the browser itself.
Windows Update and Defender. Formally not in the privacy section, but they appear in many “debloating” guides. Disabling them trades privacy for security, and at a very bad exchange rate.
What to Do on Your System
- Open Settings → Privacy & security → Diagnostics & feedback. Turn off “Send optional diagnostic data”. While you’re there, click “Delete diagnostic data” - this clears what’s already been sent.
- In the same section, set “Feedback frequency” to “Never”.
- Go to General and turn off all four toggles: advertising ID, app launch tracking, suggested content, and tailored experiences.
- In Activity history, uncheck storing activity on the device if you don’t use cross-device sync.
- Review Location, Camera, and Microphone. Revoke access from apps whose names you don’t recognize or haven’t used in months.
- Go to the Microsoft account privacy dashboard through your browser and clear accumulated activity history and searches.
- After major system updates, return to step 1 and check whether settings have reverted to defaults. This happens with feature updates - set yourself a reminder every few months.
The entire procedure takes one evening, costs nothing, and requires no additional programs. If someone offers you a paid tool to “remove spying from Windows,” remember that the above list requires nothing beyond the built-in Settings.
Source
Antyweb: Windows 11 Cię szpieguje. Zmień te ustawienia, accessed October 3, 2026. Specific toggle names and their location in menus may vary depending on system version and build - the descriptions below correspond to current Windows 11 releases.
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