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Windows 11 has no single switch that removes every ad, recommendation, tip, or notification. These nine controls target different places those prompts appear—from Settings and Start to the lock screen, Windows notifications, apps, and Edge. Turn off the ones you find intrusive, while keeping alerts you still need.
Settings names and locations can vary by Windows 11 version. If a path or option below is missing, search for its name in Settings. Microsoft says the older General privacy page is being replaced by Recommendations & offers in newer versions.
Which settings affect which prompts?
Use this map to choose controls based on where the prompt appears. Some change personalization inputs; others hide a content surface or silence specific Windows tips.
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| Setting | What it affects | What changes when you turn it off |
|---|---|---|
| Personalized offers | Windows offers based on activity | Limits offers personalized using Windows activity. |
| Advertising ID | Apps that use the Windows advertising identifier | Limits that identifier’s use for personalized ads; it does not reduce the number of ads. |
| Website language-list access | Websites that use your preferred-language list | Stops Windows sharing that language information; sites may be less able to infer your preferred language. |
| Start and search app-launch tracking | Start and search personalization | Stops app-launch tracking as an input to improving Start and search results. |
| Suggested content in Settings | Tips and suggestions in Settings | Hides that source of suggested content. |
| Device usage | Offers and suggestions informed by selected usage categories | Removes selected categories as a basis for tailored suggestions. |
| Start Recommended providers | Apps and content in Start’s Recommended area | Hides recommendations from disabled providers; if all are off or everything is unpinned, the relevant sections collapse. |
| Lock-screen personalization | Spotlight tips, tricks, and notifications; lock-screen widgets | Picture or Slideshow avoids Spotlight’s tips and notifications; widgets have a separate control. |
| Windows notifications and Edge personalization | Windows welcome/tips prompts and Edge/Microsoft web experiences | Disables the specific Windows tips or welcome prompts, or separately stops Edge from using browsing activity for personalization. |
1. Turn off personalized offers based on Windows activity
Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Personalized offers and turn off Get personalized tips, ads, and recommendations based on my Windows activity. In newer Windows 11 versions, look for this control under Recommendations & offers if the older privacy page is not present.
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Microsoft says these offers can include its own and third-party products, apps, features, and hardware. This control concerns offers based on Windows activity; it is not a system-wide ad blocker. Microsoft says personalization may use required diagnostic data, optional diagnostic data if you share it, device and account information, and data from other Microsoft products. Some personalization can happen on the device.
2. Limit app personalization with the Advertising ID
Open Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers and turn off Let apps show my personalized ads by using my advertising ID.
This limits personalized ads in apps that use the Windows advertising identifier. It does not reduce how many ads appear; Microsoft says ads may simply be less relevant. The setting does not control every website cookie, third-party app, or other form of interest-based advertising.
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3. Stop sharing your language list with websites
Under Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers, turn off Let websites show me locally relevant content by accessing my language list if you do not want Windows to share your preferred-language information with websites for this purpose.
The trade-off is that websites may not infer your preferred language as conveniently. This is a language-list privacy control, not a general setting for blocking website ads.
4. Disable app-launch tracking for Start and search
In Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers, turn off Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches.
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This stops app launches from being used as this specific personalization input. It does not block ads across Windows or remove every recommendation in Start and search.
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In Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers, turn off Show me suggested content in the Settings app to remove this source of tips and suggestions.
6. Review the Device usage categories
Go to Settings > Personalization > Device usage. Turn off categories that do not fit how you use the device, or opt out if you do not want those selections informing tailored suggestions. Microsoft gives examples such as Xbox Game Pass trials for Gaming, OneDrive suggestions for School, entertainment app or site suggestions, and a Microsoft 365 Business trial for Business. You can change these choices later.
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Microsoft Support says of the data from Device usage selections: “We don’t share this data with third-party.” That statement is specifically about those selections; it should not be read as a statement about all Windows telemetry or data practices.
7. Clean up Start recommendations
Open Start settings and unpin apps you do not want to see. You can also turn off unwanted Recommended providers. Microsoft says that when all providers are off or everything is unpinned, the relevant sections collapse and are not shown.
This changes what appears in Start. It does not change notification settings or personalization controls elsewhere in Windows.
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8. Remove Spotlight content and manage lock-screen widgets
Go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. If you do not want Windows Spotlight tips, tricks, and notifications, choose Picture or Slideshow instead of Windows Spotlight.
Manage lock-screen widgets separately, or turn Widgets off if you do not want them there. Changing the lock-screen background does not itself disable widgets.
9. Silence Windows tips without losing useful alerts, and review Edge separately
Turn off Windows welcome and tips prompts
Go to Settings > System > Notifications. Turn off Show the Windows welcome experience after updates and when signed in to show what’s new and suggested and Get tips and suggestions when using Windows.
Avoid turning off all notifications just to stop these prompts if you rely on alerts from apps. Windows provides per-app notification controls, so you can keep useful notifications enabled and silence only the sources you do not want.
Control Edge browsing-activity personalization
In Edge, open Settings > Privacy, search, and services and review the browsing-activity personalization control. Turn it off if you do not want browsing activity used for personalization in Edge and Microsoft web experiences.
This is separate from the account privacy-dashboard setting for personalized ads. Turning off account-level personalized ads does not stop Edge activity from being used for search results, news feeds, or other Microsoft web experiences.
Quick Recap
What these controls will not do
- They do not create one universal switch for every advertisement, recommendation, tip, or notification.
- Turning off the Advertising ID does not reduce the number of ads; it affects personalization for apps that use that identifier.
- The Edge control, Windows settings, and account-level ad personalization control govern different surfaces and are not interchangeable.
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