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How to protect your privacy in Windows x

Worried about privacy in Windows ten? Hither's what you can do.

Preston Gralla By

Contributing Editor, Computerworld |

face superimposed on keyboard privacy hacker — Thinkstock

Table of Contents

Turn off ad tracking
Turn off location tracking
Turn off Timeline
Curb Cortana
Ditch a Microsoft account for a local account
Change your app permissions
Control and delete diagnostic data
Use Microsoft'south Privacy Dashboard
Get granular in the Settings app

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There has been some concern that Windows 10 gathers too much private information from users. Whether you think Microsoft's operating organisation crosses the privacy line or just desire to make sure you protect as much of your personal life equally possible, we're here to help. Here'southward how to protect your privacy in just a few minutes.

Note: This story has been updated for the Windows ten May 2021 Update, version 21H1 . If y'all have an earlier release of Windows 10, some things may be different.

Turn off ad tracking

At the height of many people'due south privacy concerns is what data is existence gathered about them as they scan the web. That data creates a profile of a person'south interests that is used by a diversity of companies to target ads. Windows 10 does this with the use of an advertising ID. The ID doesn't just gather information nigh y'all when you browse the spider web, but also when you use Windows 10 apps.

You tin can plow that advertising ID off if you desire. Launch the Windows 10 Settings app (by clicking on the Commencement button at the lower left corner of your screen and so clicking the Settings icon, which looks like a gear) and get to Privacy > Full general. There y'all'll run into a listing of choices under the title "Alter privacy options"; the showtime controls the advert ID.

Move the slider from On to Off. You lot'll nevertheless become ads delivered to y'all, but they'll exist generic ones rather than targeted ones, and your interests won't be tracked.

win10 privacy advertising id 21h1 — You lot can plough off Windows 10'due south advert ID if you want. You'll all the same get ads, simply they'll be generic ones. (Click image to enlarge it.)

To make absolutely sure y'all're non tracked online when you utilise Windows 10, and to turn off any other means Microsoft volition use information about you to target ads, head to the Advert Settings section of Microsoft's Privacy Dashboard. Sign into your Microsoft account at the top correct of the folio.

Then become to the "Run into ads that interest you" department at the top of the page and move the slider from On to Off.

Turn off location tracking

Wherever you get, Windows 10 knows you're there. Some people don't heed this, because it helps the operating system give you relevant information, such as your local weather, what restaurants are nearby and so on. But if you don't want Windows 10 to track your location, you tin can tell it to stop.

Launch the Settings app and go to Privacy > Location. Underneath "Allow access to location on this device," click Change and, on the screen that appears, move the slider from On to Off. Doing that turns off all location tracking for every user on the PC.

win10 privacy location 21h1 — Clicking the *Modify* button lets you turn location tracking on or off for every user on the Windows 10 device. (Click image to overstate information technology.)

This doesn't have to exist all-or-nothing affair — you tin turn off location tracking on an app-by-app ground. If you want your location to be used only for some apps and not others, make certain location tracking is turned on, and so scroll down to the "Cull apps that tin use your precise location" section. Yous'll run across a list of every Windows 10 app that can employ your location. Move the slider to On for the apps you want to allow to use your location — for instance, Weather or Maps — and to Off for the apps you don't.

That doesn't cover desktop apps, though. So after you turn on location tracking, become to "Permit desktop apps to access your location." When y'all do that, a listing of desktop apps that employ location tracking appears. Motion the slider to On for each of the apps you desire to use your location and Off for each app you don't.

When y'all turn off location tracking, Windows 10 will still go along a record of your past location history. To clear your location history, get to the Privacy Dashboard, ringlet down to the Location Activity department, click View and Clear Location Activity, and delete all or some of your location history.

At that place's a lot more than you can do to protect your privacy when y'all're in that location. For details, see "Use Microsoft'due south Privacy Dashboard" below.

Turn off Timeline

Timeline is a Windows ten characteristic that lets yous review and so resume activities and open files y'all've started on your Windows 10 PC, as well as any other Windows PCs and devices you take. So, for instance, you tin switch between a desktop and a laptop, and from each automobile resume activities you've started on either PC.

In order to do that, Windows needs to gather information about all your activities on each of your machines. If that worries you lot, it's like shooting fish in a barrel to turn Timeline off. To do it, get to Settings > Privacy > Activeness history and uncheck the boxes next to Store my activity history on this device and Send my activity history to Microsoft.

win10 privacy activity history 21h1 — Hither's how to plow off Timeline so that Microsoft doesn't gather information nearly your activities on your PC. (Click epitome to enlarge information technology.)

At that point, Windows 10 no longer gathers data most your activities. However, information technology still keeps data most your old activities and shows them in your Timeline on all your PCs. To get rid of that quondam information, become down to the "Clear activity history" section of the screen and click Clear.

Note that yous'll have to take these steps on all of your PCs to turn off the tracking of your activities.

Curb Cortana

Cortana is a somewhat useful digital assistant, but at that place's a tradeoff in using it: To exercise its job well, information technology needs to know things virtually you such as your home location, place of work, and the times and road y'all take to commute at that place. If you're worried it will invade your privacy by doing that, at that place are a few things you can exercise to limit the information Cortana gathers about y'all. Only there'southward some data you'll accept to share with Cortana if you lot want to apply the assistant at all.

Outset by opening Cortana settings: Click the Cortana icon to the right of the Windows search box (it'south a circumvolve), then click the iii-dot icon in the upper left of the screen and select the settings icon that appears in the pane. And then click Privacy. A panel appears that lets you, to a limited extent, limit the information Cortana gathers about you.

win10 privacy cortana settings 21h1 — Hither's the central location for handling privacy in Cortana, merely there'south not a lot you tin can do to limit its privacy gathering if you want to keep to employ it. (Click image to enlarge it.)

Click Revoke permission and sign out, and you'll be signed out of Cortana, your chat history will exist cleared, and Cortana won't rails information such every bit your location or connect with your agenda, email, contacts and other apps and services. But you won't be able to use Cortana, either. The adjacent time yous sign in, Cortana will once against track yous and connect with all those services.

If you only want to clear your chat history but remain signed into Cortana, click Clear in the chat history department. Your chat history will be deleted, just once you start using Cortana, yous'll again build upwardly a chat history.

Note that the "Microsoft Privacy dashboard" section of Cortana's settings is outdated. It brings you lot to the Microsoft Privacy Dashboard, merely the Dashboard no longer lets you clear Cortana data.

Ditch a Microsoft business relationship for a local business relationship

When you use your Microsoft business relationship to log into Windows 10, you're able to sync your settings with all Windows devices. So, for example, when you make changes to your settings on a desktop PC, those changes will also be made on your laptop the next time you log in.

Only peradventure you don't want Microsoft to store that information nigh y'all. And maybe you want to cut your ties as much as possible to anything Microsoft stores about you. If that's the case, your best bet is to cease using your Microsoft business relationship and instead utilize a local account.

To do it, go to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users. Then click Add together someone else to this PC. From the screen that appears, select I don't have this person'south sign-in information. On the adjacent folio, select Add a user without a Microsoft account and follow the instructions to create and use a local business relationship.

Keep in mind that when you do this, you won't be able to employ Microsoft'south OneDrive storage or download and install for-pay apps from the Microsoft Store. You can, however, download and install gratis apps from the Microsoft Shop.

Modify your app permissions

Windows apps have the potential to invade your privacy — they can accept admission to your photographic camera, microphone, location, pictures and videos.

Only y'all tin can determine, in a very granular way, what kind of admission each app can take.

To practise this, get to Settings > Apps. Below "Apps & features" you lot'll see a list of your installed apps. Click the app whose permissions you lot want to control, then click Advanced options and set up the app'southward permissions by toggling them either on or off.

win10 privacy app permissions 21h1 — Setting permissions for Microsoft'due south 3D Viewer app. (Click image to enlarge it.)

Note, though, that not all apps have an "Advanced options" link. And of those that do, not all permit you customize your app permissions.

However, in that location's some other way to change app permissions. To do it, go to Settings > Privacy and look under the "App permissions" section on the left-hand side of the page. You'll meet a listing of all of Windows' hardware, capabilities and features that apps can access if they're given permission — location, camera, microphone, notifications, account info, contacts and so on.

Click whatsoever of the listed items — for example, Microphone. At the top of the page that appears, you can turn off access to the microphone for all apps. Below that you'll see a listing of all the apps with access to the microphone, where you can command access on an app-by-app basis. Any app with admission has a slider that is prepare to On. To cease any app from having access, move the slider to Off.

Control and delete diagnostic data

As yous use Windows 10, data is gathered about your hardware and what yous do when yous use Windows. Microsoft says that information technology collects this data every bit a way to continually ameliorate Windows and to offer you customized communication on how to all-time use Windows.

That makes plenty of people uncomfortable. If you lot're one of them, you can to a sure extent control what kind of diagnostic data is gathered well-nigh you lot. To do it, head to Settings > Privacy > Diagnostics & Feedback. In the "Diagnostic data" department, y'all can choose between two levels of diagnostic data to be gathered. Annotation that in that location'southward no way to stop Microsoft from gathering diagnostic data entirely. Here are your two choices:

Required diagnostic information: This sends data to Microsoft "about your device, its settings and capabilities, and whether it is performing properly." If yous're worried about your privacy, this is the setting to choose.
Optional diagnostic information: This sends the whole ix yards to Microsoft: It will send info virtually the websites you browse and how you use apps and features, plus additional info nigh device health, device usage, and enhanced error reporting." Information technology besides sends forth required diagnostic data. If you lot're worried nigh your privacy, don't make this selection.

win10 privacy diagnostic data 21h1 — Get here to control what diagnostic information Windows ten gathers. (Click paradigm to enlarge it.)

Next, scroll down to the "Tailored experiences" section and move the slider to Off. This won't touch the data Microsoft gathers, but information technology will turn off targeted ads and tips that are based on that information. So while information technology won't enhance your privacy, you'll at least cut down on the annoyance gene.

Now ringlet a bit farther down and in the "Delete diagnostic data" section, click Delete. That will delete all the diagnostic information Microsoft has gathered about you. However, after you lot delete it, Microsoft will start gathering the data once again.

Finally on this screen, consider scrolling up to the "Improve inking & typing recognition" section and moving the slider to Off. That will end Windows ten from sending to Microsoft the words you input using the keyboard and inking.

One final annotation nearly diagnostic information. You may have heard virtually a tool Microsoft has been hyping, called the Diagnostic Information Viewer, which y'all can download from the Microsoft Store. Microsoft claims it lets you lot see exactly what kind of diagnostic data Microsoft gathers about you. Don't believe it. It'southward something only a programmer could love — or understand. Yous won't exist able to use information technology to conspicuously see the diagnostic information Microsoft collects. Instead, you'll curlicue or search through incomprehensible headings such as "TelClientSynthetic.PdcNetworkActivation_4" and "Microsoft.Windows.App.Browser.IEFrameProcessAttached" with no explanation of what it means. Click any heading, and you'll find even more incomprehensible data.

Employ Microsoft's Privacy Dashboard

Microsoft has congenital an excellent, little-known web tool called the Privacy Dashboard that lets yous track and delete a lot of data Microsoft gathers about you. To go to it, go to https://business relationship.microsoft.com/privacy/.

As covered before in this story, here you tin can turn off ad targeting. You tin can also view and delete your browsing history, search history, location activeness, voice activeness, media action, and more than.

(Note that for your browsing and search history, it just tracks your activity when you use Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer. It doesn't rail data when yous use other browsers, like Chrome or Firefox. And information technology only tracks your location history when you're using Microsoft devices, not those that apply iOS or Android.)

win10 privacy microsoft privacy dashboard — Microsoft'due south trivial-known Privacy Dashboard is a great identify to delete much of the information Microsoft gathers most y'all. (Click image to enlarge it.)

To use it, head to the information you lot desire to view and articulate, so click the appropriate link — for example, View and delete browser history in Microsoft Edge. Notation that in some instances, you won't have full control over deleting and managing data.

Become granular in the Settings app

All this shouldn't take that long and will do a groovy deal to protect your privacy. However, if you want to dig even deeper into privacy protections, there's something else you can practice.

Launch the Settings app and click Privacy. On the left-paw side of the screen, yous'll see the various areas where you lot can become even more than granular about privacy — for example, in the Windows permissions department yous can change your global privacy options for things such as speech recognition and inking. And here's where you lot'll get access to all app permissions, equally outlined earlier in this article.

These steps can accept you a long mode towards making sure that Windows 10 doesn't cross the line into gathering data you'd adopt remain private.

This article was originally published in January 2016 and most recently updated in August 2021.

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Preston Gralla is a contributing editor for Computerworld and the author of more 45 books, including Windows 8 Hacks (O'Reilly, 2012) and How the Net Works (Que, 2006).