Technology Tips – Published May 2023 in the Guide and Digest
By Don Trauger – Kennett
We are all concerned about our privacy, especially when using our digital devices. Do you know how to go about it?
This article addresses the most important privacy settings in Windows 11.
Start by going into Settings. Click the Start icon (lower left corner of the screen) then click the Settings icon (gear) in the window and go to Privacy & security. In the center pane that appears, click General and move the sliders to Off for the top 4 settings. Next, go to https://choice.microsoft.com/en-us/opt-out and move the slider to Off. This will not stop all ads but will stop ads that come from sources that track you across the Internet.
Under Windows permissions, click Inking & Typing personalization and move the slider to Off.
Move down and click on Diagnostics and feedback and turn off the sliders for Send optional diagnostic data and Tailored experiences.
Also under Windows Permissions is Activity history. I have mixed feelings about this item as it does have user value in as much that it does help to bring up previously viewed websites by just typing the first few letters of the site. It also works in the same way when you use Google. If you want to review a previous search, just type the first view letters of the previous search and it should reappear. The downside is that Microsoft does track your activities for this item. If you don’t want to be tracked, remove the check in the box next to Store my activity history on this device.
Under App permissions:
Location: Wherever you go, Windows 11 knows you’re there. 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. But if you don’t want Windows 11 to track your location, you can tell it to stop. Move the slider to Off. Doing that turns off all location tracking for every user on the PC.
Camera & Microphone: Both of these should have the top 3 items in their respective lists turned on. If you use Zoom it will be listed at the bottom for both and also should be turned on.
The rest of the items under App permissions have a minimal privacy risk.
This article covers Windows 11 privacy settings. However, to complement these privacy settings, read my previous article about Microsoft’s Edge browser that also covers the recommended privacy/security settings for Edge. Here’s the link: https://hersheysmill.org/resources/technology/computer-security-tips/microsoft-edge-and-security-feb-2022/. If you don’t use Edge then it’s not necessary to perform this task.