What Diagnostic Data Windows Sends and How to Limit It

Required vs optional: what actually leaves your PC

The required tier is essentially a passport of the device and the system: manufacturer, model, CPU, RAM and storage, the exact Windows version and build, an inventory of installed drivers and Microsoft Store apps, readiness signals for updates, and error reports when Windows components misbehave. Microsoft uses this stream to decide which devices get which updates and to diagnose crashes; on Home and Pro it cannot be disabled at all. It is modest in size and does not include the contents of your files.

The optional tier is far chattier: which apps and features you use, for how long and how often, the websites you visit in Edge, handwriting and keyboard input samples that feed text suggestions, and richer crash dumps. All of this powers the “recommendations” and tips Windows occasionally shows. Nothing in that list is critical for updates or security — the system runs identically without it, it just stops tailoring advice to you.

• Required — device and hardware info: make, model, CPU, RAM, storage, peripherals
• Required — exact Windows version and build, plus update-readiness signals
• Required — inventory of installed drivers and Microsoft Store apps
• Required — error reports when Windows components crash or misbehave
• Optional — app and feature usage: what you open, how often, for how long
• Optional — Edge browsing history, inking and typing samples, richer crash dumps

Turning optional data off, step by step

Press Win+I, type diagnostics into the Settings search and open the result, or walk the path Settings → Privacy & security → Diagnostics & feedback. In Windows 11, flip “Send optional diagnostic data” to Off; in Windows 10 the same page (Settings → Privacy → Diagnostics & feedback) offers radio buttons — pick Basic. Below the toggle, also turn off the analysis of inking and typing and “Tailored experiences”, which decides whether your diagnostic data is used to personalize tips and recommendations.

If you want proof rather than promises, enable “Diagnostic data viewer” on the same page — the “Open Diagnostic Data Viewer” link installs a small Microsoft app that shows the events Windows has collected on this device, decoded and searchable. Anything tied to your Microsoft account can be reviewed and wiped on the privacy dashboard at account.microsoft.com. The settings take effect immediately; no reboot is needed.

Activity history, Edge, and what you can never switch off

A neighbour page handles a different trail: Settings → Privacy & security → Activity history. Untick “Store my activity history on this device” and “Send my activity history to Microsoft”, then use “Clear activity history” if anything has already piled up. As for browsing: only Edge feeds your visited websites into optional diagnostic data, and only while that toggle is on — Chrome and Firefox never use this channel. Do not confuse either of these with the browsing history stored inside the browser itself, which is cleared by the browser.

The required minimum cannot be switched off on Home or Pro — it is part of the license terms, not a setting. Administrators of Enterprise and Education editions can squeeze the stream to the Security level with Group Policy: Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Data Collection and Preview Builds → Allow Diagnostic Data. For a personal machine the honest arithmetic is simple: optional data is switchable, required data is not, and the switch you control is the one that matters.

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