How to Disable Windows 11 Telemetry (Step by Step)

Windows 11 collects diagnostic data continuously: which apps you open, how long they run, hardware details, error reports and — depending on your settings — advertising identifiers and typing samples. There is no single switch that turns it all off, but with a handful of careful changes you can cut collection to the minimum Microsoft allows. This guide explains what each setting actually does, the registry values behind it, and how to check that your changes survived the next feature update.

What Windows 11 actually collects

• Required diagnostic data — the minimum every device sends: basic error reporting, device configuration and the information needed to keep Windows updated and secure.
• Optional diagnostic data — inking and typing samples, detailed app usage, browsing activity in some Microsoft apps, and how you use Windows features. This is the part worth turning off.
• Advertising ID — a per-user identifier that apps can use to personalize ads.
• Activity history — apps, files and websites you opened, used for recommendations.
• Tailored experiences — personalized tips and suggestions built from your diagnostic data.

Step 1 — Turn off optional diagnostic data in Settings

Open Settings (Win + I) and go to Privacy & security → Diagnostics & feedback. This page controls most of what you need:

• Set Diagnostic data to “Required only” (older builds call it “Basic”).
• Turn off “Improve inking and typing”, “Tailored experiences” and “View diagnostic data”.
• Delete what has already been collected with the “Delete diagnostic data” button.
• Set Feedback frequency to “Never” unless you plan to send feedback manually.

While you are in Settings, also open Privacy & security → General: turn off the advertising ID and the other suggestion options if you do not use them.

Step 2 — Lower the telemetry level (Pro, Enterprise and Education)

Windows enforces a floor: Home and Pro always send at least Required diagnostic data, and the “off” (Security, 0) level is only honored on Enterprise and Education editions. So on a normal PC the goal is to make sure nothing above Required is sent. On Pro and above you can do this two ways:

• Group Policy (gpedit.msc): Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Data Collection and Preview Builds → Allow Diagnostic Data. Set it to “Send required diagnostic data” (or “Diagnostic data off” on Enterprise).
• Registry: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection → AllowTelemetry (DWORD). 0 = off (Enterprise only), 1 = Required, 2 = Enhanced, 3 = Full (Optional). A value of 1 is the practical minimum.

Step 3 — The services and scheduled tasks behind telemetry

Two Windows services do most of the telemetry work. You can set both to Disabled:

• DiagTrack (Connected User Experiences and Telemetry) — collects and uploads diagnostic data. Disabling it stops the pipeline; Windows Update and Defender keep working.
• dmwappushservice — handles device-management push messages that a typical home PC never uses.

Then open Task Scheduler → Microsoft → Windows → Application Experience and the Customer Experience Improvement Program folder. Disable the tasks related to telemetry and feedback individually — do not disable entire folders, because some tasks in those trees are unrelated (startup checks, compatibility scans) and other components may depend on them.

What keeps working (and what stops)

• Windows Update, Microsoft Defender and the Microsoft Store keep working — they use separate channels from DiagTrack.
• Windows Insider builds require optional diagnostic data, so do not apply the full treatment if you belong to the Insider Program.
• The Feedback Hub can no longer attach diagnostics to your reports.
• Personalized suggestions across Windows become generic — that is the trade-off working as intended.

Verify your changes — and re-check after feature updates

• Settings shows Diagnostic data: Required only.
• In an elevated terminal: reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection /v AllowTelemetry
• In PowerShell: Get-Service DiagTrack, dmwappushservice — both should be Stopped and Disabled.
• Major Windows feature updates can reset policies and re-enable scheduled tasks. Re-run the checks after each big update, or keep the tweak applied through a tool that re-applies it.

Skip the manual work

CodeWinOptimizer automates this entire guide: it creates a restore point, then applies the documented privacy tweaks — telemetry level, advertising ID, activity history, DiagTrack and the scheduled tasks — showing you the exact command behind each one before it runs, and lets you revert everything from the app.

See the “Disable telemetry” tweak with its exact commands

Disable the advertising ID tweak

Disable activity history tweak

Summary

You cannot fully silence Windows 11 — especially on Home, where Required diagnostic data is mandatory. But you can remove everything above that floor: optional data, advertising ID, tailored experiences, DiagTrack and its scheduled tasks. Apply the changes once, verify them with the commands above, and re-check after each feature update.