Windows collects a surprising amount of diagnostic and usage data by default, sent back to Microsoft to help improve the operating system and, more controversially, to personalise advertising. While it's impossible to eliminate every scrap of data collection on a fully supported, updateable Windows installation, you can substantially reduce it using entirely official, built-in controls. This guide covers what Windows telemetry actually is and how to dial it down step by step.

What Windows Telemetry Actually Collects

Telemetry in this context covers several categories: diagnostic data about crashes and performance, usage data about which features and apps you use, advertising identifiers used to personalise ads shown within Windows itself, and speech data if you use Cortana or dictation features. Microsoft states this data is used to improve Windows and troubleshoot problems, but many users understandably prefer to minimise it, both for privacy reasons and because some telemetry processes use a small but measurable amount of CPU and bandwidth in the background.

Pro tip: You cannot disable diagnostic data entirely on Windows 10 or 11 Home and Pro editions — Microsoft only allows full disabling on Enterprise and Education editions via Group Policy. What you can do on Home and Pro is set it to the minimum "Required" level and turn off every optional data-sharing feature individually, which is what this guide focuses on.

Step 1: Set Diagnostic Data to the Minimum Level

  1. Open Settings > Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback (Windows 11) or Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & feedback (Windows 10).
  2. Set diagnostic data to Required diagnostic data (sometimes labelled "Basic" on older builds) — this is the lowest level available outside Enterprise editions.
  3. Turn off Improve inking and typing.
  4. Turn off Tailored experiences, which uses your diagnostic data to personalise tips and suggestions.
  5. Click Delete diagnostic data to clear what's already been collected and stored locally, ready to send.

Step 2: Turn Off Advertising ID

Windows assigns every user account a unique advertising identifier used to personalise ads across apps.

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy & security > General.
  2. Turn off Let apps show me personalised ads by using my advertising ID.
  3. On the same screen, also turn off Let websites show me locally relevant content, Let Windows improve Start and search results, and Show me suggested content in the Settings app.

Step 3: Review App Permissions

Individual apps and background processes can access far more than most users realise.

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy & security and work down through each category: Location, Camera, Microphone, Activity history, Background apps.
  2. For Activity history, turn off "Store my activity history on this device" if you don't use the Timeline feature.
  3. For Background apps, disable background permission for anything you don't need running when not actively in use — this also has a modest positive effect on battery life for laptops.

Our companion guide on managing app permissions on Windows and macOS covers this in more depth.

For users comfortable with more technical settings, several Windows services and scheduled tasks relate specifically to diagnostic data collection. Proceed carefully here, and only disable what's listed below — disabling unrelated services can cause instability.

  1. Press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
  2. Find Connected User Experiences and Telemetry, double-click it, and set Startup type to Disabled, then click Stop.
  3. Open Task Scheduler (search from the Start menu).
  4. Navigate to Task Scheduler Library > Microsoft > Windows > Application Experience.
  5. Disable tasks named Microsoft Compatibility Appraiser and ProgramDataUpdater, which scan installed software and send compatibility data.
  6. Navigate to Customer Experience Improvement Program under the same tree and disable the tasks there too.

Warning: Some third-party "debloater" scripts found online go much further than this, disabling core Windows services or using registry hacks that can break Windows Update or cause instability down the line. Stick to Microsoft's own settings and Group Policy/Task Scheduler where possible, and be very cautious about running scripts from unfamiliar sources with administrator rights.

Step 5: Use Group Policy (Windows Pro, Enterprise, Education Only)

If you're running Windows Pro or above, Group Policy gives more granular control.

  1. Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter.
  2. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Data Collection and Preview Builds.
  3. Double-click Allow Diagnostic Data (or "Allow Telemetry" on older builds), set it to Enabled, and choose the lowest available option from the dropdown.
  4. Explore the other policies in this folder, such as disabling the Feedback Hub's data collection prompts and Connected User Experiences.

Step 6: Managing Edge and Cortana Data Separately

Windows telemetry is distinct from data collected by Microsoft Edge and Cortana, which have their own settings.

  • For Edge, follow the tracking protection and privacy settings covered in our browser security guide.
  • For Cortana, go to Settings > Cortana (if present on your build) or search for Cortana permissions, and disable it entirely if you don't use voice assistant features — this also stops associated speech data collection.

Third-Party Tools: Proceed With Caution

Tools like O&O ShutUp10++ provide a friendly graphical interface for toggling many of the same settings covered above, plus some additional registry-level tweaks, and can be a reasonable option for less technical users who want a single dashboard. If you use a tool like this:

  • Download only from the developer's official website, never a third-party download aggregator that might bundle unwanted software.
  • Avoid the most aggressive presets that disable Windows Update components or security features — stick to privacy-focused toggles only.
  • Create a System Restore point before applying a large batch of changes, so you can roll back easily if something breaks.

What This Won't Do

It's worth being realistic about the limits here. Even with every setting above minimised, Windows still needs to communicate with Microsoft's servers for essential functions like Windows Update, activation, and Microsoft Store/Defender operations — this is necessary for security and can't reasonably be disabled without breaking core functionality. What you're achieving with this guide is cutting out the optional, advertising and usage-personalisation data collection, not making Windows entirely silent on the network.

Closing Thoughts

Windows telemetry can't be switched off completely on Home and Pro editions, but the settings covered here remove the vast majority of the optional data collection and advertising personalisation in about ten minutes of work. Combine this with the browser privacy settings and app permission review covered elsewhere on this site for a genuinely more private Windows setup.

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