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To reduce personalized advertising in Windows, disable the Advertising ID and the Windows personalization setting that Microsoft now calls Personalized offers. On Windows 11, go to Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers and turn off Let apps show my personalized ads by using my advertising ID; then open Privacy & security > Personalized offers and turn off Get personalized tips, ads, and recommendations based on my Windows activity. Older Windows 11 builds may place these controls under General and Diagnostics & feedback.
These switches reduce specific forms of personalization; they do not remove every advertisement, cookie, diagnostic transmission, or Microsoft account-based recommendation. To cover browser activity and ads associated with your Microsoft account, change the separate Edge and Microsoft privacy-dashboard settings described below.
Which Windows settings control personalized ads?
Windows has several privacy controls with different jobs. The Advertising ID is an identifier that apps can use to associate activity with a user on a device. Personalized offers (formerly Tailored experiences) governs Windows tips, recommendations and offers based on Windows activity and diagnostic information. Edge has its own browsing-activity permission, while Microsoft account ad personalization is managed online and can apply across devices.
| Control | Where it applies | What changing it does | What remains |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising ID | Windows apps that opt to use the identifier | Stops apps from using the Windows advertising identifier for personalized ads | Ads can still appear; other identifiers, cookies and ad systems are unaffected |
| Personalized offers / Tailored experiences | Windows tips, ads and recommendations | Stops personalization based on Windows activity, diagnostic data and related account information | Required diagnostic data still operates; unrelated advertising mechanisms remain |
| Optional diagnostic data | Windows diagnostic collection | Limits the optional category when the available Required option is selected | Required diagnostic data continues to be sent |
| Microsoft account ad settings | Ads personalized to your Microsoft account across devices | Stops account-level ad personalization | Edge browsing activity can still have a separate personalization permission |
| Edge browsing activity | Microsoft Edge and Microsoft services such as search, news and shopping | Stops Edge from saving specified browsing activity for personalization | Browsing still works; other websites and services have their own controls |
Because these controls cover different data sources, changing only one of them is not a universal “tracking off” switch. Use the sections that match the activity you want to limit.
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Windows 11: turn off the Advertising ID
The Advertising ID is a unique identifier Windows generates for each user on a device. Apps and advertising networks that support it can use the identifier to associate information with that user and tailor advertisements. Microsoft states that disabling it does not reduce the number of advertisements; it can make the ads less relevant instead.
Current Windows 11 path
- Open Start and select Settings.
- Choose Privacy & security.
- Open Recommendations & offers.
- Turn off Let apps show my personalized ads by using my advertising ID.
The change affects Windows apps that use this identifier. It does not prevent every app from displaying an ad, and it does not control advertising identifiers created independently by a website, browser or third-party service.
If your Windows 11 build uses a different location
Windows labels and locations can vary by update. If Recommendations & offers does not show the Advertising ID switch, open Settings > Privacy & security > General and look for the same advertising-ID wording. The control may appear there on an older Windows 11 build.
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Windows 11: turn off Personalized offers
Personalized offers is the newer Windows 11 name for a control that older releases called Tailored experiences. Microsoft describes these offers as using Windows diagnostic data together with information associated with your account and other Microsoft products and services. Information stored locally on the device can also be relevant.
Current Windows 11 path
- Open Start > Settings.
- Select Privacy & security.
- Choose Personalized offers.
- Turn off Get personalized tips, ads, and recommendations based on my Windows activity.
This setting targets Windows-generated tips, recommendations and offers based on activity. It does not promise that every ad in Windows or in an installed application disappears.
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Older Windows 11 path: Tailored experiences
- Open Settings > Privacy & security.
- Select Diagnostics & feedback.
- Find Tailored experiences.
- Turn the setting off.
Microsoft is replacing the Tailored experiences label with Personalized offers on newer Windows 11 versions. If you cannot find one label, search the other location rather than assuming the feature is missing.
Windows 11 diagnostics: what you can and cannot stop
Personalization and diagnostics are related but separate. The Personalized offers switch controls how Windows uses activity and diagnostic information to tailor tips, ads and recommendations. It does not turn off all diagnostic transmission.
In Settings > Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback, Windows presents a choice between the available required and optional diagnostic categories. Selecting the available Required option limits collection to the required category. Microsoft says required diagnostic data remains included when optional diagnostic data is selected, and required data supports keeping Windows updated and secure, troubleshooting, and product improvement.
- Turning off Personalized offers changes personalization, not the existence of required diagnostics.
- Choosing Required instead of Optional reduces the optional category, but it is not a promise that Windows sends no diagnostic information.
- Deleting diagnostic data from a device does not necessarily delete information already associated with a Microsoft account or prevent future transmission.
Some diagnostic choices can be unavailable or controlled by an organization on a work-managed computer. In that situation, the device administrator’s policy takes precedence over the local switch.
Windows 10: disable Advertising ID and Tailored experiences
Windows 10 uses older names and menu paths. Microsoft ended Windows 10 support on October 14, 2025. After that date, Microsoft no longer provides free Windows Update software updates, technical assistance or security fixes for the supported Windows 10 release. The privacy changes below still describe the available controls, but changing them does not extend support or replace security updates.
Turn off the Windows 10 Advertising ID
- Open Start > Settings.
- Select Privacy.
- Choose General in the left pane.
- Turn off Let apps use advertising ID to make ads more interesting to you based on your app activity.
This is the Windows 10 equivalent of disabling the per-user Advertising ID used by participating apps. The number of ads may remain the same because the switch changes personalization, not the presence of advertising.
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Turn off Tailored experiences
- Remain in Settings > Privacy.
- Open Diagnostics & feedback.
- Turn off Tailored experiences.
Windows 10 retains required diagnostic data even when optional collection is limited. Treat this setting as a personalization control, not as a complete diagnostic-data shutdown.
Turn off Microsoft account ad personalization
Windows settings are not the only place Microsoft can associate advertising preferences. The Microsoft privacy dashboard has an Ad settings page for controlling whether ads are personalized to your Microsoft account across devices.
- Sign in to the Microsoft privacy dashboard with the account used on your devices.
- Open Ad settings.
- Switch off the option that allows Microsoft to personalize ads to your account.
The dashboard also provides ways to view and clear some account-associated data. Clearing data there and deleting diagnostic data on a PC are different actions: removing one does not necessarily remove the other, and neither guarantees that future data will not be collected when a separate feature remains enabled.
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Stop Edge from using browsing activity for personalization
Microsoft Edge has a separate permission to save browsing activity—including history, usage, favorites, web content and other browsing data—for personalization in Edge and Microsoft services such as ads, search, shopping and news. Turning off account-level personalized ads does not, by itself, disable this Edge activity permission.
- Open Microsoft Edge.
- Select Settings and more (the three-dot menu), then choose Settings.
- Open Privacy, search, and services.
- In the Privacy area, find Allow Microsoft to save your browsing activity including history, usage, favorites, web content, and other browsing data to personalize Microsoft Edge and Microsoft services like ads, search, shopping and news.
- Turn that permission off.
This setting concerns the use of activity for Microsoft personalization. It does not disable ordinary browsing, erase your history automatically, or control data practices of websites you visit. Website cookies, sign-in activity and third-party services have their own settings and policies.
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What turning off these settings actually changes
Ads may still appear
Disabling the Advertising ID does not reduce the quantity of ads. Microsoft’s documented effect is that ads may become less interesting or relevant because one Windows identifier is no longer available for that personalization. Apps can use other data or advertising mechanisms, and websites can display ads independently.
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Required diagnostics remain
Windows needs required diagnostic data for documented functions such as keeping the operating system updated and secure and diagnosing problems. Turning off optional diagnostics or personalization does not make Windows completely silent.
Different accounts and devices may have different settings
The Advertising ID is associated with a user on a particular device, while account-level ad controls can apply across devices. Changing one does not automatically synchronize every setting in the other category. Check each Windows installation and the Microsoft account used on it.
Personalization is broader than advertising
The Personalized offers and Tailored experiences controls cover tips and recommendations as well as ads. A reader who wants fewer suggestions in Windows should change this setting even if advertising is not the main concern.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.A practical sequence for reducing Windows personalization
Use this order when you want to review the major Microsoft controls without confusing their scopes:
- Identify the operating system. Use the Windows 11 paths if the device runs Windows 11; use the Windows 10 paths only for a Windows 10 installation.
- Disable the Advertising ID in the version-specific privacy menu.
- Disable Personalized offers, or Tailored experiences if that is the label shown by the build.
- In Diagnostics & feedback, select the available Required option if you also want to limit optional diagnostic collection.
- Review the Microsoft privacy dashboard’s Ad settings for account-level personalization.
- In Edge, turn off permission to save browsing activity for personalization if Edge activity is part of your goal.
After completing the sequence, Windows can still show ads and still send required diagnostic data. The result is narrower personalization, not a guarantee that all tracking or advertising has stopped.
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Troubleshooting missing or different settings
The menu name does not match
Windows updates can move or rename privacy controls. On Windows 11, check both Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers and Privacy & security > General for Advertising ID. For the personalization control, check both Privacy & security > Personalized offers and Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback for Tailored experiences.
A switch is unavailable
On a workplace-managed device, an organization can control diagnostic and privacy choices. If Windows displays a management notice or disables a control, contact the organization’s administrator. Do not assume that a registry edit or third-party “debloat” utility will override the policy safely.
You still see personalized-looking ads
Confirm which surface is showing the ad. A Windows app may use an identifier other than Advertising ID; Edge may still have browsing-activity personalization enabled; or the Microsoft account’s Ad settings may still allow personalization. Review all three controls before concluding that a switch failed.
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Advertising ID affects relevance, not volume. Seeing the same number of advertisements after disabling it is expected behavior under Microsoft’s description of the setting.
You want data deleted as well as personalization stopped
Use the privacy dashboard’s available viewing and clearing controls for account-associated information, and use Windows’ own diagnostic-data controls for the device. These actions have separate scopes and do not guarantee deletion of every copy held by another app, website or service.
Windows privacy checklist
- Windows 11 Advertising ID: Off under Recommendations & offers, or General on an older build.
- Windows 11 Personalized offers: Off under Personalized offers, or Tailored experiences under Diagnostics & feedback on an older build.
- Windows 10 Advertising ID: Off under Privacy > General.
- Windows 10 Tailored experiences: Off under Privacy > Diagnostics & feedback.
- Optional diagnostics: Required selected where Windows provides the choice.
- Microsoft account ads: Personalization disabled in the privacy dashboard’s Ad settings.
- Edge activity: Permission to save browsing activity for personalization turned off.
- Expectations: Ads can remain, and required diagnostic data can remain.
Bottom line
For Windows 11, disable both the Advertising ID and Personalized offers; for Windows 10, disable the Advertising ID and Tailored experiences. Then review Microsoft account Ad settings and Edge’s browsing-activity permission if you want to limit personalization beyond Windows itself. These changes reduce specific data uses, but they do not disable every ad, cookie, identifier or required diagnostic process.
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