How to Disable Windows Built-In Activity Tracker

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Microsoft’s upcoming Recall feature, which captures screenshots of your activities on Windows and has recently become opt-in, isn’t the first attempt by the tech giant to record user activities. Windows 10 introduced an activity tracker as part of its Timeline feature, and despite the removal of Timeline in Windows 11, the tracker persists.

For users concerned about privacy, managing this feature is straightforward. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to check if the activity tracker is active and how to disable it:

Steps to Disable Windows Built-In Activity Tracker

Access Settings: Start by opening your Windows Settings. You can do this by clicking on the Start menu, selecting the gear icon, or pressing ‘Win + I’ on your keyboard.

Navigate to Privacy & Security: In the Settings menu, click on “Privacy & security” listed on the left-hand side to access more specific privacy options.

Find Activity History: Scroll down to find the “Activity history” option and click on it. This will show you the current settings related to activity tracking on your device.

Toggle Off Activity Tracking: Within the Activity history settings, you will find an option labeled “Store my activity history on this device.” Toggle this off to stop Windows from keeping a record of your activities.

Clear Existing History: After disabling the activity tracker, you can also clear your existing history by clicking the “Clear history” button. This will delete any previously recorded activity data stored on your device.

However, it’s important to note recent updates from Microsoft regarding this feature. According to Microsoft’s support page, the option to send activity history to Microsoft was deprecated in the Windows 11 updates 23H2 and 22H2 as of January 2024. This means that any data not already cleared will automatically be deleted within 30 days from the last cloud sync.

For those who prefer immediate action or do not want to wait for the automatic clearance, following the steps above will ensure that your activity history is turned off and erased from your device.

Disabling the activity tracker in Windows can help enhance your privacy, especially if you are cautious about personal data usage.

William Watson