Microsoft Windows 10
What the default settings do
Windows 10 reached the end of free mainstream support on October 14, 2025. If your PC is still running it, the single most important privacy-and-security decision here isn’t a toggle: it’s making sure you’re still receiving security updates. Microsoft’s consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) program covers enrolled Windows 10 devices through October 2027, and can be free if you enable Windows Backup/settings sync, cost 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points, or cost a small one-time fee, depending on region and account setup. An unpatched, out-of-support device is a far bigger exposure than any privacy setting below, so confirm ESU enrollment first if you plan to keep using Windows 10.
With that out of the way: Windows 10 collects diagnostic data about your device, assigns an advertising ID for ad personalization, and can keep a local activity history. Tailored experiences use your diagnostic data for personalized tips, and online speech recognition sends voice data to Microsoft’s servers during dictation. Most of this is set during initial setup, and if you (or a manufacturer) clicked through it quickly, most sharing options were likely left on. These can be changed at any time.
A reasonable privacy baseline
These settings are found in Settings → Privacy (press Windows + I). Windows 10 keeps privacy controls under a single “Privacy” section rather than splitting them into “Privacy & security” the way Windows 11 does; the individual pages underneath are similar.
Diagnostic data
Settings → Privacy → Diagnostics & feedback → Diagnostic data → Send optional diagnostic data → Off
Windows always sends required diagnostic data: basic information about your device and configuration. This toggle controls optional data on top of that, including websites you visit, app usage, and enhanced error reporting. Turning it off limits collection to the required minimum.
Settings → Privacy → Diagnostics & feedback → Improve inking and typing → Off
When enabled, Windows sends samples of what you type and write with a pen to Microsoft to improve recognition models. Turning it off stops those samples from being sent; it's separate from the local personalization setting further down.
Settings → Privacy → Diagnostics & feedback → Tailored experiences → Off
Microsoft uses your diagnostic data to personalize tips shown within Windows. Turning this off means you still see general suggestions, just not ones based on your own activity.
Settings → Privacy → Diagnostics & feedback → Delete diagnostic data → Delete
Removes diagnostic data Microsoft has already collected. It's a one-time action; new required diagnostic data continues going forward.
Activity history
Settings → Privacy → Activity history → Store my activity history on this device → Off
Microsoft removed the separate "Send my activity history to Microsoft" cloud-sync toggle from Windows 10 as of the January 2024 update (KB5034203, version 22H2), so a current build has no cloud destination for this data at all. Turning off local storage means no on-device activity log is kept either.
General privacy and advertising ID
Settings → Privacy → General → Let apps use advertising ID to make ads more interesting to you based on your app activity → Off
Windows assigns an advertising ID that apps can use for ad targeting. Turning this off resets the ID and stops apps from using it for personalization; you'll still see ads, just less tailored ones.
Settings → Privacy → General → Let websites provide locally relevant content by accessing my language list → Off
Prevents websites from reading your Windows language settings to serve localized content. A minor tracking vector, but an easy one to close.
Settings → Privacy → General → Let Windows track app launches to improve Start and search results → Off
Stops Windows from tracking which apps you open to personalize Start tiles and search suggestions.
Settings → Privacy → General → Show me suggested content in the Settings app → Off
A Windows 10-specific toggle that surfaces promotional tips inside the Settings app itself. It doesn't affect diagnostic data collection, just whether Settings shows you upsell-style content.
Speech
Settings → Privacy → Speech → Online speech recognition → Off
When enabled, dictation and voice commands send your voice data to Microsoft's servers. Turning it off restricts speech features to on-device recognition, which can be less accurate for some languages and accents.
Inking and typing personalization
Settings → Privacy → Inking & typing personalization → Getting to know you → Off
When enabled, Windows builds a personal dictionary from your typing and handwriting patterns to improve autocorrect. Turning it off stops new data from being learned; existing data can be cleared from the same page.
Location
Settings → Privacy → Location → Location for this device → On, but review per-app access below
Keeping location services on is practical if you use maps or weather apps. The more important step is reviewing which individual apps actually have access.
Settings → Privacy → Location → Choose which apps can access your location → Review and disable for apps that don't need it
Scroll the list and turn off location access for anything with no real reason to know where you are.
account.microsoft.com/privacy → Location activity → Clear
Windows 10's Location page traditionally included a local "Clear" history button, but Microsoft has been moving this kind of history to its online dashboard rather than a local one, mirroring a change already made on Windows 11. If a local Clear option isn't on your build, the online dashboard is the current place to review and delete it; it only holds data if you're signed in with a Microsoft account with location and cloud sync enabled.
Windows Search
Settings → Search → Permissions & History → Review SafeSearch and cloud content search
Cortana was retired as a standalone assistant in 2023, but the search box still has its own permissions page, separate from the general Privacy section, covering whether results include cloud/work-account content and what SafeSearch level applies. Review it if you use taskbar search regularly; you can also clear device search history from the same page.
App permissions and account data
Settings → Privacy → Camera, Microphone, Notifications, and similar pages → Review per-app access and disable what isn't needed
Each capability gets its own page under Settings → Privacy, with a master toggle and a per-app list. Reviewing these periodically is more useful than a one-time pass, since new apps request access as you install them.
Visit account.microsoft.com/privacy → Review and clear stored data
Microsoft stores account-linked activity data, including Edge browsing history, Bing search history, location history, and voice activity, viewable and deletable category by category. Worth a periodic check regardless of Windows version.
Trade-offs
- Not enrolling in Extended Security Updates means your device stops receiving security patches entirely, a materially larger risk than any privacy setting here. Enrolling in ESU is worth doing before anything else on this page.
- Turning off optional diagnostic data means Microsoft has less information to fix issues specific to your hardware or software, which matters more on an older, less-tested OS version.
- Disabling the advertising ID and tailored experiences means ads and suggestions will be less relevant, but no less frequent.
- Turning off online speech recognition means dictation relies on local processing, which may be less accurate.
- Disabling inking and typing personalization means autocorrect won’t adapt to your individual patterns.
- Turning off activity history removes a local record of recently used apps and files; since cloud sync no longer exists on current builds, this mainly affects convenience on a single device rather than syncing across several.
Who should not change these settings
- If you haven’t yet decided whether to enroll in ESU or upgrade, do that first, it matters more than the settings below.
- If you use Windows voice features extensively and need the highest dictation accuracy, keep online speech recognition on.
- If you use a pen or stylus often and value autocorrect that adapts to your handwriting, keep inking and typing personalization on.
- If you’re comfortable with Microsoft’s data practices and want to help catch device-specific bugs, leaving optional diagnostic data on is a valid choice, especially useful feedback on an OS in its final support years.
- If you use a managed work or school device, many of these settings may already be controlled by IT and won’t appear as editable.