Turn Off Windows 11 Ads, Recommendations, and Telemetry

Windows 11 by default pushes recommended apps, Microsoft Store ads, Start menu suggestions, lock-screen trivia, and usage telemetry. Microsoft walks a line between a paid OS and a connected service, so some promotions are baked into the interface. Many find it intrusive and worry about privacy. This guide collects an actionable checklist from Settings, Group Policy, and the registry to strip Windows 11 ads, recommendations, and telemetry down to the cleanest state, all reversible and without destabilizing the system.

What you can turn off in Settings (safest, do this first)

All of these live in Settings (Win + I), no tools needed.

1. Start menu recommendations. Settings > Personalization > Start, and turn off Show recently added apps, Show most used apps, Show recommended files, and Show more pins in Start.
2. Personalized ad ID. Settings > Privacy and Security > General, and turn off Let apps use my advertising ID for ads that are more interesting to me.
3. Lock-screen trivia or ads. Settings > Personalization > Lock screen, set Personalize your lock screen to Picture or Slideshow, and turn off Get fun facts, tips, and suggestions from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen.
4. Notification ads. Settings > System > Notifications, and turn off Tips and suggestions when you open an app, Welcome experience, and Get tips and suggestions.
5. Suggested content. Settings > Personalization > Device usage (or Suggested content), turn off the related suggestions, and turn off Show recommendations for Office in File Explorer too.
6. Widgets. Right-click the taskbar > Taskbar settings, and turn off Widgets; or right-click Widgets on the taskbar to unpin the panel. To keep but reduce it, leave only Weather in Widgets.
7. Edge new-tab ads. That is the browser layer; see Best Windows Browsers in 2026 and How They Compare and Browser Homepage Hijacked and Won't Change.
8. Cortana or tips. Settings > Apps > Installed apps, and turn off Cortana-related notifications.
9. Microsoft Store suggestions. Open the Store, click your profile, then Settings, and turn off App suggestions and Show recommendations. That stops the Store from pushing installed apps as if they were new.

Group Policy (Pro and Enterprise, more thorough)

Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc.

• Kill the lock-screen focus ads. Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization > Do not display the lock screen item in Windows Spotlight, set Enabled.
• Kill consumer features. Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Cloud Content > Turn off Microsoft consumer experiences, set Enabled. This removes the recommended-app promotions in the Start menu.
• Turn off activity history or timeline. Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > OS Policies > Turn off activity history, set Enabled; also uncheck activity history under Settings > Privacy.
• Turn off Cortana. Windows Components > Search > Allow Cortana, set Disabled.

Home has no gpedit. Use the registry method below, or a script that adds Group Policy from a trusted source (be careful).

Registry telemetry tweaks (advanced)

Press Win + R, type regedit, and back up the registry or system first.

1. Lower telemetry level (enterprise policy allows 0; consumer minimum is 1). Under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection, create DWORD AllowTelemetry = 1 (security diagnostic data).
2. Turn off ad ID. Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\AdvertisingInfo, DWORD Enabled = 0.
3. Turn off personalized experience. Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Privacy, set the related items to disabled (carefully, as needed).

Note that setting telemetry to 0 on a consumer edition is forced back to 1 by the system (a Microsoft limit). Fully cutting telemetry offline needs a third-party tool such as O&O ShutUp10++ from a trusted source, but over-blocking can break some feature updates.

One-click third-party tools (convenient, with trade-offs)

• O&O ShutUp10++. Free, visual toggles for telemetry, ads, and privacy, one-click recommended profile, exportable settings.
• Winaero Tweaker. Free, many Windows 11 look-and-behavior tweaks (including turning off ads and widgets and restoring the old right-click menu; the old right-click menu article covers it too).
• This PC or File Explorer ads. Mostly OneDrive promotion; turn off Show OneDrive in File Explorer within OneDrive settings.

Download tools only from trusted channels to avoid bundled modified builds.

What to watch after turning things off

• Tailored experiences. Under Settings > Privacy and Security > General, also turn off Let Windows show me suggested content in settings and other places. It is subtle, but it is part of the same cleanup.
• Big feature updates reset some settings. Annual feature updates, and the November 2026 KB5127936-class patch, can switch recommendations back on; recheck after updating.
• Do not break something by disabling the wrong item. Turning off activity history is harmless, but setting diagnostic data too low can disable some enterprise features.
• Looks are separate. To make Windows 11 feel more like Windows 10 (left taskbar, old right-click menu, Start menu), read the "make Windows 11 look like Windows 10" article.
• Default apps changed. If you find the browser or open-with association hijacked after cleanup, follow Default Apps Keep Changing in Windows 11.

Recommended priority