Microsoft:- Windows Activity History:- Disabling

Daniel Adeniji Technical, Microsoft, Security ( Win OS ), Windows 10, HowTo ( Win OS ), Feature ( Win OS ), Windows 11 ( Win OS - Version ), , , ,

Background

Via Google News came across an interesting read:-

Forget Copilot+, Windows is already tracking everything you do — here’s how to disable it
Activity history is already in Windows, and you might want to disable it if you’re worried about privacy.
BY JOÃO CARRASQUEIRA
Link

Write Up

JOÃO CARRASQUEIRA

Microsoft has been living a bit of a PR nightmare since it announced Copilot+ PCs a few weeks ago. Many users are concerned for their privacy, since the Recall feature revolves around remembering everything you do on your PC so you can easily go back in time to what you were doing previously. The company addressed those concerns with a recent update, but here’s something you may not know: Windows is probably already tracking everything you do.

Unbeknownst to most people, Windows already includes a feature called activity tracking. In Windows 10, this capability was used to enable the Timeline feature, which was essentially a dumber, less capable version of Recall. But even though this feature was removed in Windows 11

Review

  1. Access Control Panel
  2. Select the Privacy Applet
    • The Privacy Applet window appears
    • Please access the General Tab
      • Please review the entries listed below
        • Let apps use advertising ID to make ads more interesting to you based on your app activity
        • Let websites provide locally relevant content by accessing my language
        • Let Windows track app launches to improve Start and search results
        • Show me suggested content in the Settings app
    • Please access the History Tab
      • Store Activity History
        • Please uncheck the option “Store My Activity History On This Device”
      • Show Activities from This Account
        • Please uncheck “Show Activities” from this account ( on each account listed )
      • Clear Activity History
        • Please engage the “Clear” button

 

Images

Image – Control Panel

Image – Control Panel – Privacy

Image – Control Panel – Privacy – Tab – General

Image – Control Panel – Privacy – Tab – General – Pre Changes

 

Image – Control Panel – Privacy – Tab – General – Post Changes

 

 

Image – Control Panel – Privacy – Tab – Activity History

Image – Control Panel – Privacy – Tab – Activity History – Pre Changes

 

Image – Control Panel – Privacy – Tab – Activity History – Post Changes

Image – Control Panel – Privacy – Tab – Activity History – Clear History

 

 

Dedication

Inspired by João Carrasqueira.

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