Microsoft Account

Browsing history → Clear and pause

Microsoft stores your browsing history from Edge when signed in. Clearing it removes past data, and pausing stops future collection. You can find this under the Privacy dashboard → Activity history.

Search history → Clear and pause

Bing search queries are logged to your account to personalize future results. Clearing and pausing this stops Microsoft from retaining your search history.

Location activity → Clear and pause

Microsoft logs location data from your devices when signed in. Pausing this stops ongoing collection. Navigation and weather apps still function using on-device location - they simply will not send that data to your Microsoft Account history.

Voice activity → Clear and pause

If you have used voice features such as voice typing, or Cortana before Microsoft retired it, Microsoft may have stored voice clips associated with your account. Clear existing recordings and pause future collection. (The standalone Cortana app on Windows has been unsupported since August 2023, so there is no longer a Cortana setting to change, but older recordings can remain until you clear them here.)

Media activity → Clear and pause

Tracks what you watch, listen to, and read across Microsoft services. Pausing this stops logging of media consumption to your account.

App and service activity → Clear and pause

Logs which Microsoft apps and services you use and how you use them. Pausing reduces the data Microsoft holds about your usage patterns.

Privacy dashboard → Ad settings → Personalized ads → Off

Microsoft uses your account data, browsing behavior, and search queries to target ads across its advertising network (including on third-party sites). Turning this off means you still see ads, but they will not be based on your profile or activity.

Personalized ads in Windows → Off

Found in Windows under Settings → Privacy & security → General → Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID. Disabling this prevents Windows apps from using your advertising ID for targeting.

Privacy dashboard → Copilot → Your Copilot app activity history → Delete all activity history

Covers your activity across Copilot apps signed in with your Microsoft account, including copilot.microsoft.com. You can export or delete this history, which is a record of what you have typed to Copilot and the responses you received. Microsoft keeps conversation history for 18 months unless you delete it sooner, either item by item or all at once.

Copilot settings → Privacy → Training on conversation activity and Training on voice conversations → Off

Two separate switches, one for typed conversations and one for voice. Turning both off excludes your future Copilot conversations from being used to train Microsoft's AI models. This does not remove conversations already used for training before you changed the setting, and Microsoft notes that opting out does not stop your data being used for general product improvement, safety, or compliance.

Copilot settings → Memory → Personalization and memory → Off, or review what Copilot remembers

When this is on, Copilot remembers details from your conversations and uses them to personalize later answers. You can ask Copilot "What do you know about me?", tell it to forget specific details, or use Delete all Memory. Deleting memory does not delete your conversation history, and deleting history does not delete memory, so clear both if you want a fresh start. A separate Microsoft usage data switch controls whether Copilot also draws on your Bing, MSN, and Edge activity.

Photos and files you upload to Copilot → Avoid uploading sensitive images

In late September 2026, 404 Media reported, based on internal documents and contractors, that human reviewers working for Microsoft see some Copilot users' image-editing prompts together with the photos they uploaded, with faces not blurred. Microsoft responded that it uses customer data as described in its terms, including to improve its products. Whatever your training settings, treat anything you upload to Copilot as something a person might see: avoid photos of yourself or others that you would not want reviewed, and images of IDs, financial documents, or children.

Copilot → Personalized ads → Off

Controls whether Microsoft uses your Copilot activity to personalize ads you see. Turning this off does not reduce how many ads you see, only whether they are based on your Copilot activity.

Microsoft 365 apps → File → Account → Account Privacy → Manage Settings → Turn off optional connected experiences

Optional connected experiences in Microsoft 365 include features like resume assistant in Word, PowerPoint Designer suggestions, and third-party integrations. These send document content to Microsoft servers. Disabling them keeps your documents processed locally.

Optional diagnostic data → Off (send required diagnostic data only)

Microsoft 365 apps collect diagnostic data. Setting this to required-only sends the minimum data needed for security and reliability updates, rather than detailed usage telemetry.

Privacy dashboard → Apps and services → Review → Remove unused connections

Third-party apps and services that you have signed into with your Microsoft Account retain access until revoked. Review this list and remove any services you no longer use.

OneDrive sharing defaults → Set to "Specific people" or "People with existing access"

OneDrive may default to broader sharing links depending on your organization or plan. Setting the default to specific people ensures files are not accidentally shared more broadly than intended.

OneDrive Personal Vault → Use for sensitive documents

Personal Vault requires additional authentication (such as biometrics or a PIN) to access files stored within it. It automatically locks after a period of inactivity. Store sensitive documents here rather than in standard OneDrive folders.