My friend Dave runs a small accounting firm, and he called me last year in a mild panic after reading that Windows tracks app usage and sometimes even snippets of what people type. He wanted to know if Microsoft was reading his clients’ tax files. It’s not, thankfully, but the thing he was actually stumbling into was Windows telemetry, and honestly, it’s not a bad thing to be a little suspicious of.
Telemetry is the background data Windows sends to Microsoft about your PC. Some of it keeps things running and secure. Some of it goes a lot further than that, and most people have no idea how much until they go looking.
What Windows Telemetry Actually Is
Telemetry means diagnostic and usage data. Your PC crashes, and telemetry sends a report. You open a Microsoft app, and telemetry logs it. Microsoft’s official line is that this helps them fix bugs and understand what features people actually use.
Fair enough, that part’s true. But it also covers things people don’t expect: device specs, installed apps, how often you open each one, your browsing habits in Edge, and depending on your settings, even voice or text input through features like Copilot. Your PC starts feeling less like your machine and more like a data feed Microsoft happens to let you use, unless you go change that yourself.
Windows 11 Diagnostic Data Levels
Microsoft splits Windows 11 diagnostic data into two tiers. Required and Optional. The naming makes “Required” sound scarier than it is and “Optional” sound less important than it actually is, which feels backwards.
Required is the bare minimum: device type, OS version, activation status, and basic crash reports. You cannot turn this off through settings, full stop. Optional goes much further, covering app usage patterns, Edge browsing history, detailed error reports, and inking or typing data if those features are on.
You can kill Optional. Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Diagnostics and Feedback, and switch it to Required only. That one change cuts a real amount of what leaves your machine. Required still goes out regardless of what you pick; no way around that part.
The DiagTrack Service
There’s a service buried in Windows that most people have never heard of and never will unless something like this article points it out. The DiagTrack service, officially named Connected User Experiences and Telemetry, is what actually gathers and ships most of this data behind the scenes.
Although it may seem useful to turn off DiagTrack settings, the application will continue to operate normally nonetheless.
Turning Off Telemetry on Windows 10
Still running the older version? Shutting down telemetry windows in Windows 10 is almost exactly the same procedure. Start with settings, and then go to privacy, diagnostics & feedback and select Basic – the most basic option on the list.Scroll down a bit further and turn off Tailored Experiences too, since that setting uses your own diagnostic data to personalize tips inside Windows, which is a strange trade to be opted into by default.
Neither version lets you shut telemetry off completely through the settings app. For that you’re looking at Group Policy or the Registry, changing a value called AllowTelemetry to 0. That’s a step up in difficulty, and I’d genuinely recommend a system restore point first. Registry edits are not the place to wing it.
What About Windows Recall?
Newer Windows 11 builds ship with Recall, which takes running screenshots of your screen so you can search back through what you were doing earlier. Useful, sure, right up until you think through what that means for Windows Recall privacy. Every email, every document, and every private message that was open gets captured and saved.
Microsoft points out the snapshots stay local and sit behind Windows Hello. True, but local doesn’t mean safe from everyone, just safe from strangers on the internet. Anyone with access to your unlocked PC or malware that gets in is a different problem entirely. If you’re not actively using Recall, just turn it off under Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Recall and Snapshots.
Adjusting Your Windows Privacy Settings
A handful of Windows privacy settings are worth five minutes today, no matter which version you’re on.
Turn off Advertising ID under Privacy and Security, General. Go through app permissions for camera, mic, and location and cut anything that doesn’t need access. Turn off Activity History if you’re not using Timeline, which most people aren’t even aware exists. It’s a short list, but it actually moves the needle.
Does Any of This Break Windows?
No, and this is the part people worry about most for no real reason. Windows Update keeps working. Defender still gets its virus definitions. Required telemetry alone covers what’s needed for both. What you give up is personalized tips, a few in-OS feature suggestions, and some usage analytics Microsoft uses on its end, none of which your PC needs to actually function.
If you want the full walkthrough with screenshots for every step here, our complete Windows privacy settings guide covers it version by version, and our roundup of the best privacy tools for 2026 has third-party options if the built-in controls aren’t enough for you.
If you take away one thing, switch Diagnostic Data to Required. Biggest cut, least effort, five minutes tops.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you fully turn off Windows telemetry?
Not through the settings app. Required data goes out no matter what you pick. Fully blocking it means Group Policy, registry edits, or third-party tools, and even then some communication with Microsoft still happens for updates and security.
Does turning off telemetry slow down my PC or break anything?
No. Windows Update and Defender both work fine at the required level. You lose personalized tips and a few feature suggestions, nothing that touches daily use.
What’s the actual difference between required and optional diagnostic data?
Required are the basics Microsoft says it needs for security and updates. Optional goes further into app usage, browsing habits, and detailed error data. Optional is the one worth killing.
Does Windows recall the same thing as telemetry?
No, a different problem entirely. Telemetry ships data to Microsoft. Recall stores screenshots locally on your own machine. The risk with Recall is about who else can get into your PC, not what leaves it.
Do I actually need third-party tools for any of this?
Well, not necessarily; in most cases, the available settings suffice. There is software like O&O ShutUp10++, which can be used by anyone looking for more options, but it is not compulsory.