How to Protect Your Privacy in Windows

Like many tech companies, Microsoft gathers certain information about you—what you do in Windows and on the web, how and where you use your devices, and what type of content and data you access, for example.

Tech companies always say they're collecting such information to provide a more customized and personalized experience for you. Yes, some type of data collection is necessary if you want to take full advantage of certain Windows features. But companies also monetize your data for advertising purposes. The good news is that as a Microsoft user, you have a fair amount of control over your own privacy.

You can review and control your privacy settings directly in Windows 10 and 11 and remove collected data through Microsoft's online Privacy Dashboard. The process can be challenging as you face an array of privacy settings and options to view and manage, but Microsoft does provide some help along the way. Overall, it's a process worth running to ensure that you safeguard your own privacy as much as possible. Let's check it out.

Privacy Settings in Windows

The first time you encounter privacy settings is when you set up or reset Windows. At some point, you'll see a screen for Choose privacy settings for your device with the following features: Location, Find my device, Diagnostic data, Inking & typing, Tailored experiences, and Advertising ID. In Windows 10, the screen is laid out horizontally so you can quickly and easily review the different settings.

In Windows 11, the screen is laid out vertically with a graphic image unnecessarily taking up space on the left side, so you have to scroll down to see all the settings.

By default, each setting is enabled, though you can disable any of them with a click. To learn more about each setting and how to configure it, click the Learn more button. After viewing the information on each setting, click Continue. You can then disable any settings you don’t want. Click Accept to continue and finish the Windows setup.

After you’ve set up and started using Windows 10 or 11, you should review your privacy settings. In Windows 10, go to Settings > Privacy. In Windows 11, go to Settings > Privacy & security. Most of the categories and settings for privacy are the same in Windows 10 and 11, however, there are a few differences here and there.

Under the category for Windows permissions, the first five items in both versions of Windows are General, Speech, Inking & typing personalization, Diagnostics & feedback, and Activity history.

In Windows 10, select each item one by one and then click the link on the right or bottom for Learn more.

You're taken to a Microsoft Support web page that explains the specific options for that item so you can decide for yourself which ones to enable and which to disable.

In Windows 11, select each item and then click the link at the bottom for About these settings and your privacy.

Again, a web page pops up with details on that specific item to help you decide whether or not to enable it.

As you review the various features and settings, keep in mind that enabling or disabling each one is a balance between creating a more personalized or customized experience in Windows and sharing your actions and activities with Microsoft.

The trick is to allow just enough data collection so you can fully use your favorite Windows features without giving Microsoft too much information. You may also want to read Microsoft's Privacy Statement to learn how and why the company collects certain data about you and how that data is used.

The next category to review is Search. In Windows 11, click the category for Search permissions.

In Window 10, go to Settings > Search > Permissions & history.

Scroll down to Cloud content search. Here, you can prevent Microsoft from scanning your content in OneDrive, Outlook, Bing, and other services across your Microsoft account and your work or school account; just turn off the switches for one or both types of accounts.

Scroll down to the History section. Here, you can decide whether or not to let Microsoft save your search history on your computer. You can also click the button for Clear device search history if you wish to remove the search history from your PC.

If you’re not sure how to set the items in Cloud content search or History, click the link for About these settings and your privacy at the bottom of the screen in Windows 11 and the link for Learn more at the right or bottom of the screen in Windows 10. You’re then taken to a web page with details on controlling the privacy of your searches.

In Windows 10 or 11, open the category for Searching Windows. In terms of privacy, you can decide which folders to include or exclude in your searches.

Return to the Privacy settings in Windows 10 or the Privacy & security settings in Windows 11. Go to the section for App Permissions. In this section, you can control which apps have permission to access your location, camera, microphone, contacts, calendar, call history, email, documents, pictures, and other types of content and features in Windows. Click each item one after the other.

If you’re not sure whether to enable or disable a certain setting, click the Learn more link in Windows 10 and the About these settings and your privacy link in Windows 11. The resulting web page describes the specific setting to help you determine how to control it.

Microsoft Privacy Dashboard

Next, you can review and remove certain private data via Microsoft's Privacy Dashboard. Fire up your web browser and surf to the Privacy Dashboard page. Click the button to Sign in with Microsoft and sign in with your Microsoft Account.

Yes, there are many settings and lots of information here, so you'll want to take this one step (or one screen) at a time. To kick things off, click the Get started button.

Review your settings for Secure sign-in, Safe web browsing, Account recovery info, and More safety resources to modify any that you want to change. Click Finish when done.

Next, go through each item in the section for Manage your activity data—Location activity, Browsing history, Search history, App and service activity, Media activity, and App and service performance data. Review and remove any data that you no longer want Microsoft to keep. Each item includes a link that will take you to a web page with details that should help you decide how to control it.

Manage Your Privacy Settings

The next section for Manage your privacy settings lets you review and control your privacy for key Microsoft products and services, including Windows, Xbox, Office, Microsoft Teams, Skype, News, and LinkedIn.

Click a specific product or service to view the current settings and enable or disable each setting. A link for each product takes you to a page with information to help you decide how to handle the settings.

The last section for More privacy settings allows you to manage advertising preferences and similar settings.

Click the link for each category—Ad settings, Apps and services, Promotional communications, and Other Microsoft products. You can then review your settings and preferences and remove or disable any that you don’t want Microsoft to retain.