Windows provides the following privacy settings to give you control over your privacy.
Note: The General privacy settings page is being replaced by the Recommendations & offers privacy settings page in more recent versions of Windows 11. If you haven't installed the latest Windows Update, you might still see the General page on your device. If you’re seeing the Recommendations & offers page on your device, see Privacy settings for Recommendations & offers in Windows 11.
Windows generates a unique advertising ID for each user on a device, which app developers and advertising networks can then use for their own purposes, including providing more relevant advertising in apps. When the advertising ID is enabled, apps can access and use it in much the same way that websites can access and use a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Thus, app developers (and the advertising networks they work with) can associate personal data they collect about you with your advertising ID and use that personal data to provide more relevant advertising and other personalized experiences across their apps.
The advertising ID setting applies to Windows apps using the Windows advertising identifier. The advertising ID setting does not apply to other methods of interest-based advertising delivered by Microsoft or third parties, such as cookies used to provide interest-based display ads on websites. Third-party products accessed through or installed on Windows may also deliver other forms of interest-based advertising subject to their own privacy policies. Microsoft delivers other forms of interest-based ads in certain Microsoft products, both directly and by partnering with third-party ad providers. Learn more about other interest-based advertising from Microsoft
To turn off your advertising ID in Windows 10
-
Go to Start > Settings > Privacy > General.
-
Choose your preferred setting for Let apps use advertising ID to make ads more interesting to you based on your app activity.
To turn off your advertising ID in Windows 11
-
Go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > General.
-
Choose your preferred setting for Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID.
Notes:
-
Turning the advertising ID off will not reduce the number of ads you see, but it may mean that ads are less interesting and relevant to you. Turning it back on will reset the advertising ID.
-
In previous versions of Windows 10, advertising ID was referred to as relevant ads.
Windows Defender SmartScreen
Windows Defender SmartScreen sends data to Microsoft about the websites you visit and files you download to warn you and help protect you and your device from unsafe web content or malicious software.
To turn off Windows Defender SmartScreen
-
Do one of the following:
-
In Windows 10, go to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > App & browser control.
-
In Windows 11, go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Windows Security > App & browser control.
-
-
Choose your preferred settings for Windows Defender SmartScreen.
Website access of the language list
Some websites may have their content available in different languages. Windows can share information about your preferred language list with websites so that they can have the opportunity to respect your language preferences without you having to independently set them for each site.
To turn off website access to the language list in Windows 10
-
Go to Start > Settings > Privacy > General.
-
Choose your preferred setting for Let websites provide locally relevant content by accessing my language list.
To turn off website access to the language list in Windows 11
-
Go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > General.
-
Choose your preferred setting for Let websites show me locally relevant content by accessing my language list.
App launch tracking
Windows can personalize your Start menu based on the apps that you launch. This allows you to quickly have access to your list of most-used apps both in the Start menu and when you search your device.
To control app launch tracking in Windows 10
-
Go to Start > Settings > Privacy > General.
-
Choose your preferred setting for Let Windows track app launches to improve Start and search results.
To control app launch tracking in Windows 11
-
Go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > General.
-
Choose your preferred setting for Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches.
Suggested content
Microsoft can offer you suggestions throughout Settings. This content comes in a variety of forms, and can help you discover new features within Settings, or suggest new content and apps you might find interesting.
To turn off suggested content in Settings
-
Do one of the following:
-
In Windows 10, go to Start > Settings > Privacy > General.
-
In Windows 11, go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > General.
-
-
Turn off Show me suggested content in the Settings app.
