Windows 11 Privacy Settings: Limit Ads, Optional Telemetry and Start Menu Promotions

The advice is sound. The headline promise to "stop Microsoft's tracking and ads" goes further than the switches do, though. We checked each step against Microsoft's own documentation. Below is what each toggle actually controls, what it leaves alone and where the labels change between builds.

The short version​

1. Device usage: the survey that picks your ads​

During setup, Windows 11 may ask how you plan to use the PC. Microsoft's support page lists Development, Gaming, Family, Creativity, School, Entertainment and Business. Microsoft is open about what these answers are for: they tailor tips, recommendations and, in its words, "even personalized ads."

Microsoft gives examples of what each choice can trigger:

• Gaming: you might see an Xbox Game Pass trial offer or app and site suggestions popular with gamers.
• Family: you might get a prompt to set up a Microsoft family group.
• School: you might see suggestions to store school files in OneDrive.
• Business: you might see a Microsoft 365 Business trial offer.
• Development: you might get a nudge toward Dev Home.

How to turn them off:

1. Open Settings and select Personalization.
2. Choose Device usage.
3. Switch every category to Off.

Kumar says these categories don't change how the PC works. Microsoft doesn't make that broad a promise. It describes them only as signals for tailoring tips, recommendations and ads. Either way, turning them all off costs you nothing you'd notice, apart from fewer trial offers. Microsoft also says it doesn't share this device-usage data with third parties. That claim covers this data only, not Windows as a whole.

Summary: Device usage is an ad-targeting questionnaire. Turn off every category.

2. Recommendations & offers: several switches, not one​

Microsoft documents this page at Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers. On older Windows 11 builds the same toggles sit under a page called General. Blogger Kartik Mehta notes that on older Windows 11 builds, that page is still called General, but the toggles are identical. If you can't find "Recommendations & offers," check General.

The page holds several separate controls:

• Let apps show my personalized ads by using my advertising ID. Windows creates a unique advertising ID for each user. Microsoft compares it to an identifier stored in a website cookie: app developers and ad networks can link data they collect to it.
• Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches. Windows uses the apps you open to rank your most-used apps in Start and search.
• Show me suggested content in the Settings app. This controls feature tips and app suggestions inside Settings.
• Let websites show me locally relevant content by accessing my language list. This shares your language preferences with websites.
• Personalized offers, on newer builds. Microsoft says that when this is on, it may combine your Windows diagnostic data with account information and data from Bing, Microsoft 365, Xbox and MSN to target tips, ads and recommendations.

Kumar mentions the advertising ID, app-launch tracking and Settings suggestions. Computerworld also suggests turning off Personalized offers, which it describes as a setting that allows Microsoft to present you with "ads and recommendations for Microsoft and third-party products and services, features, apps, and hardware to enhance your Windows experiences" based on your Windows usage and account info. If you're already on this page, turn it off too.

A reality check on "generic ads"​

Kumar, and Computerworld, which says you'll still get ads delivered to you, but they'll be generic ones rather than targeted ones, both suggest that ads become generic once the advertising ID is off. Microsoft's own wording is narrower:

• Turning off the advertising ID does not reduce the number of ads you see. It may only make them less relevant.
• The setting covers only apps that use the Windows advertising identifier. It does not cover cookie-based ads on websites, other interest-based ads that Microsoft delivers in its products, or third-party software with its own ad systems.
• If you turn it back on, you get a fresh advertising ID.

Our earlier WindowsForum coverage of this switch reached the same conclusion: the setting will not make Windows ad-free or anonymous. What it does do is remove a shared, Windows-issued handle that participating apps can use to connect advertising activity on that specific user account and PC.

Turning off app-launch tracking has a real cost. Start and search stop learning your most-used apps. If you rely on Start ranking your favorites, you may decide to leave this one on.

For admins: you don't have to click through this on every PC. The advertising ID can be turned off centrally. Our earlier report gives the Group Policy path as Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > User Profiles > Turn off the advertising ID, and there's an MDM equivalent. If a user finds the switch absent, greyed out, or cannot be changed, the PC may be governed by an organizational policy.

Summary: Turn off the switches you don't need. Just don't expect fewer ads.

3. Diagnostics & feedback: cut back to required data​

Windows sends diagnostic data to Microsoft at two levels:

• Required diagnostic data is, in Microsoft's words, the minimum needed to keep a device reliable, secure and running normally. It covers device settings and capabilities, update logs and basic error information. You can't turn it off in Settings.
• Optional diagnostic data adds more detail about device health, app and feature use, enhanced error reporting and websites you browse. It can include a snapshot of memory when an app crashes, which may accidentally capture parts of a file you had open. Microsoft notes that required data is always included when you choose optional data.

Kumar correctly points out that Microsoft says on this page that your device stays just as secure and works normally without optional data.

How to limit it:

1. Open Settings > Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback.
2. Under Diagnostic data, turn off Send optional diagnostic data.
3. Turn off Improve inking & typing. This is a separate setting. When it's on, Microsoft collects samples of what you type and handwrite to improve features like autocomplete and handwriting recognition. Older Windows versions don't have this toggle and collect that data under the old "Full" diagnostic level.
4. Under Delete diagnostic data, select Delete.

Two caveats Microsoft states outright:

• Deleting diagnostic data does not remove data tied to your Microsoft account. It also doesn't stop future data from being sent. Account-linked data is managed separately through Microsoft's privacy dashboard.
• If these options are greyed out, you'll see a note that settings are hidden or managed by your organization. That's policy, not a fault. On enrolled devices, your IT department may also hold a copy of the data.

In the European Economic Area, Microsoft says Edge diagnostic data has been collected separately from Windows diagnostic data since March 6, 2024. It has its own settings in the browser.

Summary: Turn off optional data and inking/typing, then delete what's stored. Required telemetry stays on.

4. Start menu: remove the "promoted" apps​

The fourth change deals with the Microsoft Store promotions in Start's Recommended section. Microsoft introduced them officially in the April 23, 2024 optional update KB5036980 for Windows 11 versions 22H2 and 23H2. The release notes said Recommended would show some Store apps from "a small set of curated developers." They also named the way out: Settings > Personalization > Start, then turn off Show recommendations for tips, app promotions, and more.

Kumar says to uncheck "Show tips and app recommendations" under a Recent heading. Microsoft's wording differs from his, and labels change between builds. Look for the recommendations/tips/promotions toggle on the Start page, whatever your build calls it.

Kumar also claims that afterward Start will show only apps and files you've actually used. That goes further than the documentation. The same 2024 update started showing frequently used apps in Recommended, and those are controlled separately. Recently added apps and recent items have their own toggles on the Start page. Microsoft's hardware documentation also says PC makers can place a first-run app in Recommended for up to seven days. Microsoft's Get Started app appears there on first boot.

For admins: Microsoft's Start policy documentation includes a Group Policy setting that hides the Recommended section completely. That's the stronger option if you want it gone across a fleet.

Summary: One toggle removes Store promotions. The rest of Recommended has its own switches.

What these four don't cover​

Kumar's closing point is fair: these defaults work for Microsoft until you change them, and an opt-in model would respect users more. Four pages don't make a private PC, though. Areas you still need to check separately include:

• Lock screen tips and "fun facts" from Windows Spotlight.
• Search highlights and Bing-powered suggestions in taskbar search.
• Account-level ad settings on Microsoft's privacy dashboard. Computerworld recommends turning off "See ads that interest you" and "Share my data with third parties for personalized ads" there.
• Activity history, which Microsoft says is another setting that controls whether app activity and browsing history are sent.

Is it worth the ten minutes? Yes, as long as you know what you're getting. These changes cut down usage-based personalization, optional telemetry and the most obvious Store promotions. They don't make Windows 11 ad-free or stop it from reporting home. Required diagnostics still go to Microsoft, ads still appear, and Microsoft accounts, Edge and Bing each have their own data settings.