Windows 11 has no single switch that removes every ad, recommendation, or prompt. These nine settings target different places—Windows personalization, Start, the lock screen, notifications, and Edge—so you can quiet the surfaces that bother you without silencing useful alerts across the board.
Settings labels and locations can vary by Windows 11 version. Microsoft says the older General privacy page is being replaced by Recommendations & offers in newer versions. If a route or label below is missing, search for the quoted setting name in Settings. Microsoft’s privacy settings guidance describes the changing controls.
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Which settings control which kinds of prompts?
Windows treats several things people call “ads” as separate features. Some are personalized offers, some are suggested apps or content, and others are tips or notifications. Changing one control does not necessarily change the others.
| Setting | Main surface affected | What changing it does |
|---|---|---|
| Personalized offers and Recommendations & offers | Windows and apps | Limits certain personalization inputs or suggested content. |
| Device usage | Windows setup and suggestions | Stops selected usage categories from tailoring offers. |
| Start recommendations | Start menu | Hides selected recommended providers or pinned apps. |
| Lock screen and Widgets | Lock screen | Replaces Spotlight content or separately disables lock-screen widgets. |
| Notifications | Windows alerts | Silences Windows welcome and tips prompts while leaving other app alerts manageable. |
| Edge browsing-activity personalization | Edge and Microsoft web experiences | Stops the selected use of browsing activity for personalization. |
1. Turn off personalized offers based on Windows activity
Open Settings > Privacy & security > Personalized offers. Turn off Get personalized tips, ads, and recommendations based on my Windows activity.
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Microsoft says these offers may cover Microsoft and third-party products, apps, features, and hardware. 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 locally on the device. This setting limits this particular offer personalization, not every ad you may encounter.
2. Limit app personalization through the advertising ID
Go to Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers and turn off Let apps show my personalized ads by using my advertising ID.
This limits personalization in apps that use the Windows advertising identifier. It does not reduce the number of ads. It also does not control every website cookie, third-party app, or other interest-based advertising method. Ads may be less relevant rather than absent. Microsoft’s explanation of Windows privacy settings distinguishes this control from other ad and recommendation settings.
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3. Stop sharing your language list for locally relevant website content
In 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 through this feature.
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The trade-off is convenience: sites may be less able to infer which language to show you. This option concerns language-list access, not general website tracking.
4. Turn off 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.
This removes app launches as an input for this specific Start and search personalization. It is not a universal ad blocker and does not disable all tracking or recommendations.
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In Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers, turn off Show me suggested content in the Settings app. This removes that source of tips and suggestions within Settings; it does not affect suggestions elsewhere.
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6. Review the categories under Device usage
Open Settings > Personalization > Device usage. Turn off categories that do not describe how you use the PC, or opt out of the selections. Microsoft gives examples of suggestions associated with categories: 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. Microsoft Support says of the selection data in this Device usage feature, “We don’t share this data with third-party.” That statement is specifically about Device usage selection data, not a claim about all Windows data or telemetry. Microsoft’s Device usage guidance describes these categories and examples.
7. Remove unwanted providers from Start recommendations
Open Start settings and review Recommended providers. Unpin apps you do not want, and turn off providers you do not want contributing recommendations. Microsoft says that when all providers are off or everything is unpinned, the relevant sections collapse and are not shown. Microsoft’s Start menu guidance covers recommendations and pinned apps.
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Go to Settings > Personalization > Lock screen. If you want to avoid Windows Spotlight tips, tricks, and notifications, change the lock-screen background to Picture or Slideshow.
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Widgets are a separate control: manage lock-screen widgets independently or switch Widgets off if you do not want them on the lock screen. Changing the background does not itself turn off every widget. Microsoft’s lock-screen personalization guidance describes the available options.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.9. Silence Windows tips and review Edge personalization separately
Turn off Windows welcome and tips prompts
Open 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 every notification unless that is what you want: Windows also offers per-app notification controls, so you can keep alerts from apps you rely on while silencing Windows tips. Microsoft’s notification guidance covers notification management.
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Review browsing-activity personalization in Edge
In Edge, open Settings > Privacy, search, and services and review the browsing-activity personalization control. Disable it if you do not want browsing activity used for the relevant personalization.
This Edge control is separate from Windows privacy settings and from the account-level personalized-ads control in Microsoft’s privacy dashboard. Turning off account-level personalized ads does not stop Edge activity from being used for search results, news feeds, or other Microsoft web experiences. Microsoft’s Edge privacy guidance explains the distinction.
What these changes will and will not do
- They will: reduce the specific suggestions, personalization inputs, or prompts controlled by each setting.
- They will not: guarantee an ad-free Windows experience. Different apps, websites, and Microsoft surfaces have separate controls.
- They may change: convenience features such as language-aware website presentation or tailored Start and search results.
- They need not silence: useful alerts from every app; Windows lets you manage notifications per app.
For a targeted cleanup, make the changes for the surfaces you actually see, then leave unrelated notifications and features enabled. If a control is absent, use Settings search: Windows versions may expose the privacy options under different labels as Microsoft transitions from the older General page to Recommendations & offers. Microsoft’s support pages cited above display no publication date in the material reviewed; the settings descriptions were checked on October 7, 2026.
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