Windows 11 Privacy Settings Every Gamer Should Turn Off

Windows 11 ships with extensive data collection enabled by default. Some of these features are cosmetic (advertising ID), but several involve background processes that run constantly — uploading telemetry, syncing activity history, and scanning app behavior. Disabling them reduces background resource usage and is completely safe.

Diagnostic Data and Telemetry

Windows sends usage and crash data to Microsoft. The "Required" level is minimal and can't be fully disabled on Windows 11 Home. But "Optional" diagnostic data sends detailed usage information and is safe to reduce.

Settings → Privacy & security → Diagnostics & feedback:

• Diagnostic data: Set to Required diagnostic data (you can't turn it off entirely on Home, but this is the minimum)
• Improve inking and typing: Off (sends what you type to improve recognition)
• Tailored experiences: Off (uses diagnostic data to personalize ads)
• View diagnostic data: You can see exactly what's being sent — it's often more than expected

Settings → Privacy & security → Activity history:

• Store my activity history on this device: Off
• Send my activity history to Microsoft: Off
• Clear activity history: Click this after disabling to remove what's already stored

Activity history was introduced for the Timeline feature, which Microsoft has largely discontinued. There's no reason to keep it enabled.

Advertising ID

The Advertising ID is a unique identifier Windows assigns to your account that advertisers use to track you across apps. Disabling it doesn't break anything.

Settings → Privacy & security → General:

• Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID: Off
• Let websites show me locally relevant content by accessing my language list: Off
• Show me suggested content in the Settings app: Off
• Show me notifications in the Settings app: Off

None of these affect performance directly, but disabling them prevents apps from running background processes for ad personalization.

Location Services

Location services allow apps to query your location via Windows Location API. Windows itself uses location for Time zone detection (which is fine), but many apps — weather widgets, browser notifications, shopping apps — use it for tracking.

Settings → Privacy & security → Location:

• Location services: Off for apps you don't specifically need location access for
• Check the list of apps with access: most gaming and utility apps don't need it
• Leave it on for apps that legitimately need it (maps, weather if you use the widget)

On performance: Location services involve a background polling process. Disabling it for all apps stops this.

App Permissions: Camera, Microphone, Contacts

These aren't performance settings, but they're worth auditing:

Settings → Privacy & security → Camera: Review which apps have camera access. Most gaming and utility apps don't need it.

Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone: Leave on for communication apps (Discord, Teams). Turn off for apps that have no reason to access your microphone (most desktop utilities).

Settings → Privacy & security → Contacts / Calendar: Turn off for apps that don't explicitly need contact or calendar integration.

Background Apps

This is directly relevant to gaming performance:

Settings → Privacy & security → Let apps run in the background:

In Windows 11, per-app background permission has moved. Check:

• Settings → Apps → Installed apps → click the three dots next to any app → Advanced options → Background apps permissions → Set to Never for apps that shouldn't run in the background

Common candidates: weather apps, news aggregators, app store apps that self-update, Xbox app features.

Windows Recall (Windows 11 AI Feature)

If you have Copilot+ PC hardware (Snapdragon X, newer Intel/AMD with NPU), Windows may have Recall installed. Recall captures screenshots of everything you do every few seconds for AI search.

Settings → Privacy & security → Recall & snapshots:

• Save snapshots: Off (if this option exists on your system)

Recall uses NPU compute and disk space continuously. On gaming hardware, this is another process competing for resources.

Voice Activation and Cortana

Settings → Privacy & security → Voice activation:

• Turn off per-app voice access for any app that doesn't need it (most gaming apps)
• Cortana: If it still exists in your installation, disable it via Task Manager → Startup apps → Cortana → Disable

Xbox-Specific Privacy Settings

Settings → Gaming → Xbox Networking: Review what's being sent.

Settings → Privacy & security → Speech: Turn off if you don't use voice commands.

Xbox Game Bar: Already covered in the best Windows settings for gaming guide, but relevant here: turn it off entirely via Settings → Gaming → Xbox Game Bar → Off. It hooks into every process and reports game activity back to Xbox Live.

The Actual Performance Impact

Individually, each of these settings makes a small difference. Together:

• Reduces background network traffic (frees bandwidth for gaming)
• Reduces background CPU wake-ups (fewer processes competing during a game session)
• Reduces disk I/O from activity history and telemetry writes

On high-end systems, you won't notice each change individually. On mid-range and low-end systems, eliminating this background noise can add 2–5% consistent CPU headroom during play.

SageTweaks applies all of these privacy and performance changes automatically, including the telemetry reductions, background app permissions, and the full gaming-focused Windows optimization stack. It also logs what it changed so you can review or revert anything.

For the complete performance side of Windows optimization, see the guide on how to boost FPS in Windows 11.