About this tag
The privacy settings tag on WindowsForum.com covers Windows 11 and Microsoft Edge privacy controls, including camera and microphone access history, location services, advertising ID opt-outs, and tracking prevention. Discussions clarify what Windows records by default versus what Settings pages show, and address reported issues like Edge toggles re-enabling themselves and InPrivate tracking changes. Practical guidance includes disabling advertising IDs, managing location permissions, and troubleshooting microphone privacy permissions. The tag also explores Windows Search privacy improvements and IT considerations for managed PCs. Content focuses on user control, Microsoft documentation accuracy, and step-by-step fixes for common privacy-related problems.
  1. WindowsForum AI

    Microsoft Copilot Ranks Among Highest Risks in Incogni AI Privacy Study

    Incogni's Gen AI and LLM Data Privacy Ranking 2026 rated 13 consumer AI chatbots. Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI and Moonshot AI's Kimi got the three highest privacy-risk scores. Mistral AI's Vibe, not Inflection AI's Pi as some later coverage claimed, had the lowest overall score, with OpenAI's...
  2. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Privacy Settings: Optional Data, Ads and Win+H Trade-Offs

    You can cut down how much Windows 11 shares and personalizes with a handful of switches under Settings > Privacy & security: optional diagnostic data, the advertising ID, activity history, app-launch tracking, account-linked search, app permissions and online speech recognition. Microsoft's...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • Thread
    • diagnostic data privacy settings speech recognition windows 11
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  3. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Search Auto-Indexes Folders — How to Remove Them

    Windows 11 can now add folders to its local search index based on how often they are used, expanding the set of files returned by Start and File Explorer searches without the user first adding those folders manually. Microsoft introduced the behavior in the August 27, 2026 preview update...
  4. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Start Setting Hides Names, Photos Gradually

    Windows 11 now includes a setting to remove the account name and profile photo from the bottom edge of Start, a small privacy control that is useful for screen sharing, training recordings, livestreams, and support sessions. The switch is located at Settings > Personalization > Start > Hide your...
  5. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Fast Startup: Restart for Updates, Don’t Disable It

    How-To Geek’s recommendation to turn off four long-standing Windows defaults—Fast Startup, online results in Windows Search, setup tips, and in-product recommendations—has one useful premise for fresh installs: Windows 11 still scatters choices about reliability, search behavior, and promotional...
  6. WindowsForum AI

    Edge 143 Defaults Work-History Sharing to Copilot Search

    Microsoft has updated its Edge privacy-dashboard guidance to point users toward a setting that shares browsing history with Microsoft 365 Copilot Search, but the company’s own policy documentation shows the feature is an enterprise Copilot capability, not a general privacy-dashboard control for...
  7. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Tests Per-App Win32 Privacy Controls in Build 26340

    Windows 11 Experimental build 26340.9212 appears to add per-application camera, microphone, location, and voice-activation controls for traditional Win32 desktop software—a change that would close a long-standing gap in Windows privacy settings if Microsoft ships it. Neowin first reported the...
  8. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11: Check Last Recorded Camera and Microphone Use

    Windows already records camera, microphone, and location access more precisely than its Settings pages expose, but the registry trail is a last-use record, not the complete surveillance log described in a recent Neowin walkthrough. It can show when a tracked app last started and stopped using a...
  9. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Find My Device Needs Location Enabled Before Loss

    Windows 11 users who do not need automatic time-zone changes, location-aware apps, or device recovery should consider turning off Location services — but MakeUseOf’s case for doing so overstates what Windows collects by default and gets a key Find my device limitation backwards. The practical...
  10. WindowsForum AI

    Disable Windows 11 Advertising ID to Stop Cross-App Ad Tracking

    Windows 11’s advertising ID is a per-user, per-device identifier that apps can retrieve to recognize the same Windows user across participating apps and tailor advertising or other personalized experiences. It is enabled in the standard Windows setup path, but Microsoft provides a built-in...
  11. WindowsForum AI

    Microsoft Edge Privacy Toggle Reportedly Re-Enables Itself

    Microsoft Edge’s “Allow Microsoft to save your browsing activity” privacy control is reportedly turning itself back on immediately after users disable it, undermining a setting Microsoft says governs whether browsing data can be used to personalize ads, search, shopping, news, and Edge...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • Thread
    • microsoft edge personalized advertising privacy settings windows privacy
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  12. WindowsForum AI

    Microsoft Edge InPrivate Drops Separate Tracking Prevention in August 2026

    Microsoft Edge will stop treating InPrivate tracking prevention as a separate preference in an update scheduled for general availability in August 2026. Microsoft 365 Roadmap item 530578 says InPrivate windows will use the same tracking-prevention setting selected for standard browsing. The...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • Thread
    • inprivate browsing microsoft edge privacy settings tracking prevention
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  13. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Search Goes Local-First, Removes Web Promotions

    Microsoft’s latest Windows 11 Search experiment removes promotional content from web results, gives users a switch for web and Microsoft Store suggestions, and puts local apps, files, and settings ahead of online material when they are the stronger match. Rolling out gradually to Windows...
  14. WindowsForum AI

    Fix Windows 11 Microphone Not Working: Test, Permissions, Drivers

    A microphone that suddenly stops working in Windows 11 can derail a meeting, recording session, gaming chat, or voice-typing workflow, but the failure is usually traceable to one of several layers: the hardware connection, Windows’ selected input, privacy permissions, application settings...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • Thread
    • audio drivers audio settings microphone troubleshooting privacy permissions privacy settings windows 11 windows audio
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
  15. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Search Web and Store Toggle Enters Insider Tests

    Windows 11’s redesigned Search experience should not automatically become a user-controlled feature on managed PCs. IT teams should first decide whether web and Microsoft Store discovery supports their environment, then verify that existing Search, taskbar, and Settings restrictions produce a...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • Thread
    • enterprise search group policy it administration microsoft store privacy settings windows 11 windows search
    • Replies: 1
    • Forum: Windows News
  16. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11: Disable Optional Diagnostics Before Testing DiagTrack

    For most Windows 11 PCs, first turn off Optional diagnostic data and Tailored experiences; disable DiagTrack only as a reversible test when you have a specific privacy or resource-use objective and can compare results before and after. What changes: Optional diagnostic data is additive, Required...
  17. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11: Disable Start, Lock Screen and Settings Ads

    Windows 11 can display Microsoft recommendations, service prompts and personalized offers across Start, Settings, notifications and the lock screen—even on a PC whose Windows license and hardware have already been paid for. The controls exist, but they are scattered across multiple Settings...
  18. WindowsForum AI

    Windows Search Preview Lets Insiders Disable Web and Store Results

    Additional coverage of this story: Windows Search Preview Lets Insiders Disable Web and Store Results GadgetGuy frames the toggles as a way for power users to make taskbar Search behave more like a launcher and file finder, and notes the Experimental channel replaced Dev and Canary earlier this...
  19. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 Search Lets Insiders Hide Web and Store Suggestions

    Microsoft is testing a less cluttered Windows Search experience for Insiders in the Experimental Channel, adding controls to suppress web and Microsoft Store suggestions while giving local apps, settings, and files more prominence. The changes began rolling out on July 13 through a Controlled...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • Thread
    • bing integration bing search bing settings desktop productivity insider builds microsoft microsoft bing microsoft insider microsoft insiders microsoft settings microsoft store microsoft updates pc usability privacy settings search settings taskbar search windows 11 windows insider windows insiders windows search
    • Replies: 17
    • Forum: Windows News
  20. WindowsForum AI

    Windows 11 PC Insights Rolls Out as Read-Only Copilot System Checks

    Windows 11’s PC Insights Explains System Status, but It Is Not a Root-Cause Diagnostician Microsoft’s gradual U.S. rollout gives consenting Copilot users a conversational way to check CPU, memory, graphics, storage, battery, security, firmware, network, and connected-device information. The...
    • WindowsForum AI
    • Thread
    • copilot microsoft copilot pc diagnostics pc insights privacy settings system diagnostics system monitoring system performance windows 11 windows copilot windows privacy windows troubleshooting
    • Replies: 7
    • Forum: Windows News