Windows 11 Privacy Settings: 7 Controls for Diagnostics, Location, Clipboard and Ads

Menu names differ between Windows 11 builds, account types and managed devices. If a label on your PC doesn't match exactly, look for the nearest equivalent on the same page.

1. Choose Required-only diagnostic data​

Path: Settings > Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback

Microsoft splits diagnostic data into two levels:

• Required diagnostic data covers the device, its settings and capabilities, and whether it's working properly. Microsoft calls this the minimum it needs to keep Windows reliable, secure and running normally.
• Optional diagnostic data adds more device-health detail, device activity (usage), websites you browse, and enhanced error reporting. It can also include the memory state of your PC when a system or app crashes. Microsoft admits that memory snapshot may accidentally capture parts of a file you had open.

How to change it:

1. Open Settings > Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback.
2. Under Diagnostic data, turn off Send optional diagnostic data (or choose the Required-only option).

What success looks like: Microsoft says your PC is just as secure and works normally when it sends only Required data. You lose nothing in day-to-day use.

Common snag: If the options are greyed out, you'll see a banner saying some settings are hidden or managed by your organization. Your IT department controls this setting. Microsoft also says it collects some Optional data from only a sample of devices, so not every PC sends all of it.

2. Inking and typing: two separate switches​

Path: Settings > Privacy & security > Inking & typing personalization

There are two controls here that are easy to mix up:

• The custom dictionary. Microsoft says Windows 11 builds a word list from what you type or handwrite to improve accuracy. That list is tied to your Microsoft account and can be used across Microsoft products. Turning it off also clears the list. Microsoft's support page calls the toggle Custom inking and typing word list, while TechRepublic calls it Custom inking and typing dictionary, so look for either name.
• Improve inking & typing, under Diagnostics & feedback. This decides whether Microsoft collects samples of what you type or write to improve handwriting recognition, autocomplete, next-word prediction and spelling correction for everyone. Microsoft says it breaks the samples into small pieces and strips out unique identifiers, sequence information, email addresses and numbers. It also says this data isn't used for its tailored-experiences advertising.

What to expect: Text predictions and handwriting recognition may feel less tuned to you. Normal keyboard and pen input work exactly as before.

3. Check device location and per-app access​

Path: Settings > Privacy & security > Location

1. Check whether Location services is on.
2. Review Let apps access your location.
3. Turn off precise location for any app that doesn't need it.

Microsoft says location services can work out where you are from GPS, nearby Wi-Fi access points and routers, cell towers, your IP address, or a default location you've set. If you turn off app access completely, no app gets location. With it on, apps get approximate (coarse) location and you choose which ones get precise location.

There are a few limits worth knowing:

• Desktop apps (software installed from the web or from media rather than the Microsoft Store) don't support per-app precise-location control.
• Location isn't only about apps. Automatic time zone and Find my device both need device location. On a laptop, a sensible middle ground is to leave device location on and cut back app access.
• Other ways to find you. Microsoft warns that some third-party apps can still estimate location using Bluetooth, your IP address or a cellular modem, even with Windows location services off.
• Emergency calls. Windows will try to share your precise location during an emergency call, whatever your settings say.
• IP-based features. A few Windows features use your IP address when location is off, such as the weather on the taskbar. You can turn those off separately.
• Location history has moved. Microsoft removed local location-history storage and its settings in March 2025. If you're signed in with a Microsoft account, some location data may now be saved in the cloud, and you manage it from the account dashboard (see setting 7).

4. Keep clipboard history on your PC only​

Path: Settings > System > Clipboard

Clipboard history (Windows key + V) is handy. Syncing it to the cloud is a different matter if you regularly copy passwords, client addresses or confidential text.

1. Open Settings > System > Clipboard.
2. Find Clipboard history across your devices and turn it off.
3. If you want some syncing, choose Manually sync text that I copy instead of the automatic option. You then open Windows key + V and press the sync button on each item you want to send.
4. To wipe what's stored, select Clear under Clear clipboard data.

Microsoft's clipboard guide says Clear removes everything except pinned items, both on the device and in the cloud. Windows key + V also has a Clear all button, and each item's ... menu lets you delete it on its own. Sync works with a Microsoft account or a work account and needs the same sign-in on every device.

A few limits are useful to know here:

• History holds up to 25 entries, at up to 4 MB each.
• Older unpinned items are dropped as new ones arrive.
• Unpinned history is cleared every time you restart.

That restart rule makes pinned items the ones to watch. Don't pin anything sensitive. Turning off sync doesn't affect ordinary copy and paste.

5. Personalized offers and the settings next to it​

Path: Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers (or Personalized offers, depending on build)

Microsoft's current support page lists several independent switches here, not one master control:

• Get personalized tips, ads, and recommendations based on my Windows activity (Personalized offers)
• Let apps show my personalized ads by using my advertising ID
• Let websites show me locally relevant content by accessing my language list
• Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches
• Show me suggested content in the Settings app

When Personalized offers is on, Microsoft says it can combine your diagnostic data with account information, your use of Bing, Microsoft 365, Xbox and MSN, your subscription and purchase history, and in some cases data from third-party websites. It says it doesn't use crash-dump contents, speech, typing or inking input for these offers. On older builds you may still see the setting under its previous name, Tailored experiences.

Don't expect fewer ads. Microsoft says turning off the advertising ID won't reduce how many ads you see, only how relevant they are. It also doesn't affect cookie-based ads on websites.

6. Delete diagnostic data already collected​

Path: Settings > Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback

Changing your collection level only affects what gets sent from now on. To deal with data already sent:

1. Open Diagnostics & feedback.
2. Under Delete diagnostic data, select Delete.

Microsoft lists three limits:

• It doesn't delete diagnostic data tied to your Microsoft account. You handle that from the privacy dashboard.
• It doesn't stop new data being sent.
• If your organization has enrolled the device in services that use this data, your IT department may still have a copy.

The Diagnostic Data Viewer is also more limited than people expect. Microsoft says it only shows data while the viewer is running and doesn't show your diagnostic history. It's a live view, not a record of everything Microsoft has received. EEA readers should also know that since March 6, 2024, Microsoft has collected Edge diagnostic data separately from Windows diagnostic data there, under Edge's own settings.

7. Review the Microsoft account privacy dashboard​

Path: The Microsoft account privacy dashboard (online, not in Settings)

Microsoft says the dashboard can show Bing searches, Edge browsing, location, voice, media, and app and service activity. It also says the dashboard doesn't show every kind of data. Bing searches only appear if you searched while signed in to Bing with your Microsoft account. Once you clear data, Microsoft says it removes it from the dashboard and starts deleting it from its systems.

For location data stored in the cloud, Microsoft's steps are: sign in to your Microsoft account online, choose Clear location activity, then Clear.

The dashboard is for personal Microsoft accounts. Your organization controls work and school account data. Clearing dashboard activity also doesn't change any collection settings on your PC.

On a work PC, ask IT first​

If Windows says your organization manages a setting, it's being enforced through Group Policy or MDM. Don't try to get around it. There's a practical reason too: at minimum, Windows Update for Business reports requires devices to send diagnostic data at the Required level (previously Basic). Microsoft's organizational diagnostic-data guidance says the diagnostic data setting on the device should be set to Required diagnostic data or higher for services including Windows Update for Business reports, Windows Autopatch and Windows update reports in Intune.

Going down to Required doesn't break this reporting. Optional isn't needed for it, though Windows Update for Business reports requires at least Required (previously Basic) diagnostic data, but can function with Enhanced or Optional (previously Full). That leaves admins with a sensible baseline: Required by policy, then Optional only where a specific workload needs it.

Where to start​

These settings give you real control over specific kinds of data. They don't turn Windows into an offline machine. Treat them as a checklist to revisit after major Windows updates, because labels can change and new settings appear.