How to prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft

Would you like Protect your privacy in Windows 11In this post, we'll explain step-by-step how to prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft. We'll see that there's a lot you can do to stop your data from being collected and shared. Let's get started.

What data does Windows 11 collect?

It's no secret that Windows collects information from its users and shares it with Microsoft. Why does it do this? The company argues that collecting usage and diagnostic data is essential for to be able to offer a quality serviceMicrosoft states that all this information is used for:

• Identify and correct errors in the system and applications.
• Improve features, such as battery optimization, based on actual usage.
• Offer a personalized experience: suggest apps or show relevant news in the widget.
• Show relevant advertising for each user.

Now, What types of data does Windows 11 collect? It provides a bit of everything: system errors, performance reports, and hardware and software usage data. It also tracks activity history, such as most used apps, visited websites, and open documents. Furthermore, Windows can track your real-time location and what you type or dictate to the computer.

It's true that Microsoft collects all this data with good intentions. But for users who value privacy, this represents a unnecessary exposure of personal informationAre you one of them? Then let's see how to prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft by applying some adjustments to its settings.

Steps to prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft

Below, we've listed some simple adjustments you can make to your system settings to prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft, or at least only what's strictly necessary. Because yes, There is data that the system shares with Microsoft, no matter what.But there are others that you have control over. Many of these options are enabled by default, so you have to disable them manually.

Configure privacy from the start

If you're doing a clean install, you have a golden opportunity to prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft. During the initial setup process, Windows 11 It asks if you want to personalize your experience or use the quick settings. Don't choose "Quick Setup"! Instead, click on “Customize settings” and do the following:

• In Device Privacy, It disables options such as “Find My Device”, “Ink and Writing Diagnostics”, and “Personalization of Online Experiences”None of these are essential for the basic functioning of the system.
• In Data Diagnostics, choose the option Diagnostic data required or whichever one you find most restrictive.

Do these from the very first second It prevents connections from being established and data from being sent. before you even reach the desktop. But what if you've already installed Windows using the express setup? You'll need to go to System Settings and apply some adjustments to prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft.

Change your privacy settings in Settings

Whether you customized the settings during installation or not, it's a good idea to apply additional privacy settings. This will prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft. To do this, simply... Go to the Settings section, which can be accessed from the Start menu.

Once in Settings, Click on the Privacy and Security optionWithin it, you will apply the following adjustments:

• Sign in Comments and diagnoses and disables the Send optional diagnostic data option.
• Go back to Privacy and Security and enter the Search option. There, disable the following options:
  • Search history
  • Show search highlights
  • Search in my accounts – Microsoft account and work or school account.
• If you wish, click the Delete button to clear the device's search history.

Disable telemetry to prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft

Now we're going to disable telemetry in Windows—that is, the system Microsoft uses to collect diagnostic data. We've already disabled optional diagnostic data, but there's more to do. Go to Configuration - Privacy & Security - Recommendations and offers y deactivate the following options:

• Personalized offers.
• Improve homepage and search results.
• Enable notifications in settings.
• Recommendations and offers in Settings.
• Advertising identifier.

In Privacy and Security, another option you can disable is Personalization of handwritten entrance and writingBy keeping it enabled, Windows creates a custom dictionary to offer better suggestions while typing. However, this could compromise your privacy in some situations, so the choice is yours.

Be careful with app permissions

Both pre-installed apps and those downloaded from the internet request permission to access services such as Camera, Microphone, Location, Accounts, Contacts, Notifications, etc. Specifically, Pre-installed apps may have global permissions and access to personal informationTo check this and prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft, do the following:

• Enter to Configuration - Privacy & Security.
• Scroll down to the section App permissions.
• You'll see a list of categories, some more sensitive than others: Location, Camera, Microphone, Account Information, Contacts, etc.
• Review each category to see which apps have that permission. Disable it if you think it could compromise your privacy.

Check the permissions on your Microsoft Account

If you use a Microsoft account to sign in to Windows, Part of your activity can be synchronized with the cloudIn this regard, to prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft, you have two options:

• Switch to a local account to unlink your Microsoft accountYou can do this from Settings – Accounts – Your info – Sign in with a local account instead. Before that, we recommend the topic What happens if you install Windows without a Microsoft account: real limits in 2025.
• Continue using your Microsoft account, but disable syncYou can do this from Settings – Accounts – Windows Backup. There, disable the Remember my apps and Remember my preferences options.

Control the Microsoft Edge browser

Finally, don't forget to check your Edge browser settings if you want to prevent Windows 11 from sharing your data with Microsoft. To do this, simply go to Configuration (on Edge) – Privacy, search and servicesThere, in the Trace Prevention section, select "Strict" to limit the work of crawlers. Also, disable the option "Improve Microsoft search and products by sending web results."