7 Windows Features You Should Consider Turning Off

Personalised Ads: Windows may use an advertising ID to personalise advertisements in supported apps. Turning off this option can limit advertising personalisation based on that identifier, although it will not eliminate all ads or prevent every form of tracking across websites and services.

App Launch Tracking: Windows can track app launches to help personalise Start menu recommendations and search experiences. Disabling this setting may reduce personalised suggestions based on application usage, making the interface feel less tailored. The option is available in certain Windows versions and may vary by configuration.

Tips and Suggestions: Windows can display tips, recommendations, and suggestions throughout its interface. Turning off these notifications can reduce interruptions and make everyday computing less distracting, particularly for experienced users who already understand the operating system and prefer a cleaner, more streamlined desktop experience.

Startup Apps: Applications configured to launch automatically can increase startup time and consume memory in the background. Disabling unnecessary startup apps through Task Manager can help your computer boot more quickly, but keep essential security tools, hardware utilities, and applications you regularly need available.

Background App Permissions: Some applications can continue performing activities in the background when not actively used. Restricting background permissions for unnecessary apps may reduce unwanted activity and resource consumption, although available controls differ between traditional desktop applications, Microsoft Store apps, and Windows versions.

Activity History: Windows activity history settings can affect whether certain activities are stored locally or synchronised with your Microsoft account. Reviewing and disabling unnecessary activity-history options can improve privacy preferences, although this does not erase every record maintained separately by applications, websites, or connected services.

Delivery Optimisation: Windows Delivery Optimisation can download updates from Microsoft and, depending on settings, share update files with other PCs. Restricting downloads from other devices may suit users concerned about bandwidth or network usage, while keeping standard Windows Update functionality enabled helps maintain essential security protections.

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