IS W10PRIVACY SAFE WINDOWS 10
IS W10PRIVACY SAFE WINDOWS

IS W10PRIVACY SAFE WINDOWS

Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.Microsoft doesn't want you to do this, so they've made it more difficult to do it in Windows 11 than it was in Windows 10. If that's the case, your best bet is to stop using your Microsoft account and instead use a local account. And maybe you want to cut your ties as much as possible to anything Microsoft stores about you. So, for example, when you make changes to your settings on a desktop PC, those changes will also be made on your laptop the next time you log in.īut maybe you don't want Microsoft to store that information about you. When you use your Microsoft account to log into Windows 11, you're able to sync your settings with all Windows devices. (Click image to enlarge it.) Ditch a Microsoft account for a local account Stop Windows 11 from keeping a history of what you do on your PC. If you want to put a halt to that, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Activity history and turn the slider next to 'Store my activity history on this device' from On to Off. But oddly enough, Microsoft still tracks and stores that activity information, including the websites you visit and how you use apps and Microsoft services.

IS W10PRIVACY SAFE WINDOWS 10

In Windows 11, Microsoft eliminated the Windows 10 Timeline feature that let you review your activity on your PC. For details, see 'Use Microsoft's Privacy Dashboard' below. There's a lot more you can do to protect your privacy when you're there. To clear your location history, go to the Privacy Dashboard, click Review location data, and delete all or some of your location history. When you turn off location tracking, Windows 11 will still keep a record of your past location history. Move the slider to On for each of the apps you want to use your location and Off for each app you don't.

When you do that, a list of desktop apps that use location tracking appears. So after you turn on location tracking, go to 'Let desktop apps access your location' and turn the slider to On. Move the slider to On for the apps you want to allow to use your location - for example, Weather or Maps - and to Off for the apps you don't. You'll see a list of every Windows 11 app that can use your location. If you want your location to be used only for some apps and not others, make sure location tracking is turned on, then scroll down to the 'Let apps access your location' section. This doesn't have to be all-or-nothing affair - you can turn off location tracking on an app-by-app basis. Moving the Location services slider to Off turns off location tracking for every user on the Windows 11 device. Doing that turns off all location tracking for every user on the PC. In the right pane next to Location services, move the slider from On to Off. Launch the Settings app and go to Privacy & security > Location. But if you don't want Windows 11 to track your location, you can tell it to stop.

Some people don't mind this, because it helps the operating system give you relevant information, such as your local weather, what restaurants are nearby, and so on. Wherever you go, Windows 11 knows you're there. Then go to the 'See ads that interest you' section at the top of the page and move the slider from On to Off. Sign into your Microsoft account at the top right of the page. To make absolutely sure you're not tracked online when you use Windows 11, and to turn off any other ways Microsoft will use information about you to target ads, head to the Ad Settings section of Microsoft's Privacy Dashboard. You can turn off Windows 11's advertising ID if you want. In the left pane that appears, click General and move the slider to Off in the top setting, 'Let Apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID.' You'll still get ads delivered to you, but they'll be generic ones rather than targeted ones, and your interests won't be tracked. Launch the Windows 11 Settings app (by searching for settings and then clicking the Settings icon, which looks like a gear) and go to Privacy & security. You can turn that advertising ID off if you want. Your advertising ID isn't synced to other computers, and it operates independently of your Microsoft account, if you're using one. The ID doesn't just gather information about you when you browse the web, but also when you use Windows 11 apps. Windows 11 does this with the use of an advertising ID. That information creates a profile of a person's interests that is used by a variety of companies to target ads. At the top of many people's privacy concerns is what data is being gathered about them as they browse the web.

Is w10privacy safe