The more accurate version: on consumer editions you can reduce Windows telemetry a lot, but you can't use Microsoft's documented diagnostic setting to reduce it to zero. Below is what Microsoft says is collected, which settings you can change, and what the Linux alternative actually looks like.
What Windows diagnostic data actually includes
Microsoft splits Windows diagnostic data into two tiers, and How-To Geek describes both correctly.
Required diagnostic data. Microsoft's support documentation calls this the minimum needed to keep a device reliable, secure and running normally. It covers the device, its settings and capabilities, and whether it is working properly. Microsoft lists uses such as:
- Checking whether a device is ready for and compatible with the next Windows or app release, including which apps and drivers are installed
- Logging how updates progress through download, pre-install, post-install, reboot and setup
- Tracking which devices had upgrade failures, and why, so Microsoft can decide whether to offer the upgrade again
- Recording when an app crashes or hangs and when a crash-dump file is created. Microsoft says the dumps themselves are not collected unless you grant extra permission, such as turning on optional data.
Microsoft also says this data is stored with one or more unique identifiers that can help it recognise an individual user on an individual device. "Anonymous telemetry" is therefore not the right description, even for the minimum tier.
Optional diagnostic data. This is where How-To Geek's word "invasive" fits best. Microsoft says optional data can include websites you browse, device activity, enhanced error reporting, and the memory state of the device when a crash happens, which Microsoft admits may accidentally include parts of a file you had open. Microsoft's enterprise documentation is more specific about browsing: it covers browsing history and search terms in Microsoft browsers (Edge and Internet Explorer). Microsoft also says aggregate browsing data from its browsers is used to tune Bing search results.
Microsoft says some optional data is collected from only a sample of devices. The Diagnostic Data Viewer shows whether your PC is in that sample and which events it sends.
A correction on "typing patterns"
How-To Geek lists typing patterns as part of optional data. Microsoft handles this differently. Typing and handwriting samples are collected through a separate setting, Improve inking & typing. Microsoft says those samples are split into small pieces and stripped of identifiers, sequence information, email addresses and numbers that could be used to rebuild the original text. Microsoft also says typing, inking and speech input are not used to personalise offers. That is still collection, but it is a separate, opt-in setting, not a keylogger built into optional diagnostics.
Section summary: Required data is limited in scope but tied to identifiers. Optional data can include browsing activity in Microsoft browsers and crash memory. Typing samples are controlled by their own setting.
Step-by-step: how to reduce Windows 11 telemetry
These paths come from Microsoft's current support pages. Labels can shift between builds, so look for similar wording if yours differ.
1. Diagnostics & feedback
- Press Win + I to open Settings.
- Go to Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback.
- Turn off Send optional diagnostic data. Your device then sends required data only.
- Turn off Improve inking & typing if you don't want typing and handwriting samples collected.
- Under Delete diagnostic data, use the delete option.
About that delete button: Microsoft says it does not delete diagnostic data linked to your Microsoft account, and it does not stop future data from being sent. It removes what Microsoft has stored for that device, and collection carries on.
If these options are greyed out and the page says some settings are hidden or managed by your organization, your IT department controls them through policy.
2. Recommendations & offers
Under Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers, Microsoft documents these switches:
- Personalized offers: tips, ads and recommendations based on your Windows activity. On older builds this may still be called Tailored experiences, the setting How-To Geek mentions. Microsoft says it is being renamed.
- Advertising ID: lets apps show personalised ads using your Windows advertising identifier
- 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
Two caveats from Microsoft's documentation:
- Turning off the advertising ID does not reduce how many ads you see. It only makes them less personalised. The setting covers Windows apps that use that identifier. It does not cover cookies, ads on websites, or advertising in third-party software.
- Personalized offers can draw on much more than Windows. Microsoft says this can include your account information, Bing, Microsoft 365, Xbox and MSN activity, subscription and purchase history, Edge web activity (if you allowed it), and data shared by third-party websites. Microsoft also says some personalisation happens locally even when data doesn't leave the device. Those other sources are managed on your Microsoft account's personalised ads and offers page, separate from the Windows switch.
How-To Geek's "patchwork" description is fair. Controls are split across Windows Settings, Edge settings and your Microsoft account dashboard.
Section summary: Turn off optional data and inking/typing, delete stored data, then go through Recommendations & offers. Expect less data collected and less targeting, not zero contact with Microsoft.
The Enterprise-only "off" switch
The most useful context is a setting home users don't get. Microsoft's IT-pro documentation describes a level called Diagnostic data off (formerly labelled Security). With it, no Windows diagnostic data is sent from the device. Microsoft says it is available only on Windows Enterprise, Education and Server.
So How-To Geek is correct in practice: Home and Pro cannot turn Windows diagnostic data completely off with any setting Microsoft supports. Required data has been the default level since Windows 10, version 1903.
There are trade-offs even with that level available:
- Windows Update feedback disappears. Microsoft tells organisations that rely on Windows Update to use Required as the minimum, because update-failure information isn't sent when diagnostic data is off. Updates still install. Microsoft just loses the data it uses to fix bad releases.
- "Off" only covers Windows diagnostic data. It doesn't cover separately installed apps or other connections to Microsoft services. Edge is a good example: since March 6, 2024, Microsoft says Edge diagnostic data in the European Economic Area is collected separately, under its own settings, on Windows 10 22H2 and later and Windows 11 23H2 and later.
What about registry hacks and Group Policy tweaks on Pro? How-To Geek says Windows updates are "notorious" for reverting them. Many users report that, but it is anecdotal, and Microsoft doesn't document it either way. The documented fact is simpler: Microsoft doesn't offer the "off" level on Home or Pro, so any tweak that tries to force it is unsupported.
Section summary: A real off switch exists, but only on business and education editions, and Microsoft itself lists downsides to using it.
The Microsoft account question
How-To Geek says Windows 11 setup pushes hard for a Microsoft account, which then links the PC to OneDrive and Edge sync. Microsoft does favour the account. Its own support page says it recommends a Microsoft account over a local one, citing integration, security and sync.
Account type and diagnostic telemetry are separate issues, though. According to Microsoft, a local account:
- Exists only on one device
- Doesn't need an internet connection to sign in
- Isn't connected to the cloud
Microsoft documents switching an existing account in Settings > Accounts > Your info, using Sign in with a local account instead. You pick a username (different from any other on the PC), a password and a password hint. Microsoft warns that local-account users should create a password reset disk, because a forgotten password otherwise can't be recovered.
A local account cuts down cloud sync and account-linked personalisation. It doesn't remove required diagnostic data, which belongs to the device.
The Linux alternative
How-To Geek's main recommendation is to switch to Linux. As a privacy argument it holds up reasonably well, with some detail added.
How-To Geek uses Ubuntu, a distro it calls fairly telemetry-heavy, as its example. Canonical's developers announced that with Ubuntu 25.10 released in October 2025, they are phasing out Ubuntu Report and replacing it with Ubuntu Insights, a new method for handling anonymous telemetry collection. Canonical says users are still able to preview the initial report during installation to assist in their decision to opt-in, and reports continue to be stored locally for viewing. Like Ubuntu Report, it is open source.
This is a notable difference from Windows. Ubuntu stores reports in plain text where you can read them, while the Windows Diagnostic Data Viewer only shows events captured while it is running.
There are some caveats:
- Canonical said that for 25.10, Ubuntu Insights and Ubuntu Report are both present by default on Ubuntu Desktop installations, though by default, only one is active at a time.
- According to OSTechNix, consent previously given to Ubuntu Report is not automatically carried over to Ubuntu Insights, and Ubuntu 26.04 provides graphical controls for Insights under Settings → Privacy & Security → Telemetry, including a way to preview the report before sharing it.
- Not everyone accepts the "opt-in" label. In a community thread about the announcement, one user argued that the welcome screen has it toggled on by default, but also said it is clearly visible rather than hidden. Tech Refreshing noted that while the telemetry remains opt-in during installation, the infrastructure is built into the system by default.
How-To Geek also says distros such as Linux Mint include no system telemetry. In practice, Linux privacy varies by distro. It isn't guaranteed just because the operating system is open source.
What you give up
How-To Geek is open about the costs:
- No native Microsoft Office or Adobe Creative Cloud. It suggests LibreOffice and ONLYOFFICE for office work; Krita, GIMP, Inkscape and Darktable for images; and Kdenlive and DaVinci Resolve for video.
- Gaming is much improved through Valve's Proton, which it says runs most Steam games without a big performance loss.
- Anti-cheat remains the main barrier. Before switching, check ProtonDB and Are We Anti-Cheat Yet for the games you play. How-To Geek points to Epic's announcement of Fortnite for Linux as a sign this is changing.
The easiest way to test it is How-To Geek's own suggestion: boot a live USB and spend an hour with it before changing anything on your drive.
Analysis: who should do what
Overall, the headline overstates the case and the details are mostly accurate. A reasonable plan depends on who you are:
- Most home users: Turn off optional diagnostic data and inking/typing, delete stored data, go through Recommendations & offers, and review your Microsoft account's ad settings. That covers most of the collection you can control without reinstalling anything.
- Privacy-focused Pro users: Accept that required data stays unless you move to an edition that offers the off level. Unsupported tweaks may help, but you are relying on settings Microsoft doesn't support.
- Organisations: Enterprise and Education include the documented off level and Group Policy/MDM controls. Microsoft recommends weighing the off level against losing update-failure reporting.
- People who want zero OS-level telemetry by default: Here How-To Geek is right. A Linux distro without telemetry, or one with visible opt-in reporting, offers something Windows Home and Pro don't, at the cost of the software and gaming trade-offs above.
Microsoft argues that required data keeps Windows updating reliably across a huge range of hardware, and its update-failure examples support that. The lack of a user-controlled zero setting on consumer editions is a product decision, though, not a technical limit. Enterprise customers already have the option.