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Device usage in Windows 11 is configured at Settings > Personalization > Device usage. Open that page, switch on the categories that describe how you use the PC, and change or disable them whenever your needs change. Microsoft says these choices may influence tailored tips, recommendations, and personalized ads, but its examples are possibilities rather than guaranteed prompts or offers.
What Device usage does in Windows 11
Device usage is a group of optional category settings that tells Windows how you intend to use your computer. The available categories are Development, Gaming, Family, Creativity, School, Entertainment, and Business.
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Microsoft describes the setting as a way to tailor the Windows experience. Depending on the categories you select, Windows may show relevant tips, recommendations, app or website suggestions, pinned app suggestions, or trial offers. The wording matters: Microsoft presents these as examples of what you might receive, not as a promise that every selected category will produce a particular message.
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The setting is about personalization, not a hardware performance mode. Selecting Gaming does not, according to the Microsoft guide, claim to change graphics drivers, CPU scheduling, network performance, or game settings. Selecting School does not create a school account or automatically enroll the PC in an institution’s management system. The documented purpose is to make recommendations and guidance more relevant to the use cases you choose.
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Where to find Device usage
- Open Settings. You can select Start and then the Settings icon, or press Windows key + I.
- Select Personalization in the Settings sidebar.
- Select Device usage.
- Review the category switches on the page. Turn on the categories that match the ways you use this PC.
There is no need to choose only one category. A computer can reasonably be used for work, entertainment, study, creativity, development, or family use at the same time. Enable only the categories for which you want Windows to tailor suggestions; leaving a category off does not prevent you from using the related apps or services.
Configure the categories step by step
1. Open the Device usage page
Use the Settings path above rather than looking for a separate Device usage application. The control is part of Windows 11’s Personalization settings.
2. Match switches to actual use
Read each category label and switch on the ones that describe what you do with the computer. For example, a person who writes code and plays games can select both Development and Gaming. Someone who uses the same laptop for study and creative projects can select School and Creativity.
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Categories are optional. If a type of recommendation is not useful to you, do not enable the corresponding category. This keeps the Device usage signal narrower and reduces the chance of receiving suggestions associated with a use case you do not want to prioritize.
4. Revisit the page after your routine changes
Microsoft says you can opt out of or change your device usage options at any time. Return to Settings > Personalization > Device usage whenever you start using the PC for a new purpose, stop using an old one, or want to remove all selected categories.
What each Device usage category may lead to
The table below separates Microsoft’s category examples from the decision you need to make. Every example is described as a possibility; selecting a category does not guarantee that a particular offer, notification, suggestion, or pinned app will appear.
| Category | Example Microsoft says you might receive | When enabling it makes sense |
|---|---|---|
| Development | A possible offer to use Dev Home to set up the PC for development. | Choose it if software development, coding, or developer tooling is a regular purpose of this PC. |
| Gaming | A possible Xbox Game Pass trial offer, or suggestions for apps and sites popular with gamers. | Choose it when gaming-related recommendations are useful. The category itself is not documented as a performance optimizer. |
| Family | A possible notification to set up a Microsoft family group. | Choose it if the PC is used by multiple family members and family-management guidance would be relevant. |
| Creativity | Possible suggestions for related apps and sites. | Choose it when creating visual, audio, written, or other creative work is a meaningful part of your routine. |
| School | Possible suggestions to store school files in OneDrive. | Choose it when the PC is used for schoolwork and related file-storage guidance would help. |
| Entertainment | Possible pinned app suggestions for entertainment apps and sites. | Choose it when watching, listening, or other entertainment is a primary use and related suggestions are welcome. |
| Business | A possible Microsoft 365 Business trial offer. | Choose it when the computer is used for business activities and business-oriented guidance may be relevant. |
How to choose categories without over-personalizing Windows
Use the narrowest accurate set
Think of the switches as preference signals. Select categories that are genuinely important rather than turning on every option simply because it is available. A focused selection makes it easier to understand why a later recommendation might appear.
Account for shared computers
If several people use one Windows 11 device, select categories that represent the shared use of the computer, not every individual’s occasional activity. A family computer might warrant Family and Entertainment, while a work machine shared by a team might warrant Business. You can revise the choices when the primary user changes.
Separate occasional tasks from primary purposes
Using a computer once for a particular task does not require enabling that category. For example, downloading a school document for a family member does not by itself make School an appropriate preference. Enable a category when you want Windows to use that type of activity to shape suggestions.
Remember that categories can overlap
There is no documented requirement to choose a single category. A student who develops software can select both School and Development; a freelancer who designs graphics and manages a company can select Creativity and Business. The useful question is whether each enabled category reflects a purpose for which tailored guidance could be welcome.
What may change after you select a category
Microsoft groups the possible effects into tailored tips, recommendations, and personalized ads. The exact result can vary by category and by what Microsoft chooses to offer at a given time. Examples in Microsoft’s guide include an offer related to Dev Home for Development, a possible Game Pass trial or gamer-oriented suggestions for Gaming, and a family-group setup notification for Family.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchOther examples include related app and site suggestions for Creativity, OneDrive file-storage suggestions for School, pinned entertainment app suggestions for Entertainment, and a possible Microsoft 365 Business trial offer for Business. These are illustrative outcomes, not a schedule of messages that every user will see.
Device usage therefore should not be treated as a promise of a particular product, trial, pinned app, or notification. If you select a category and nothing appears, that is consistent with Microsoft’s wording. Likewise, seeing a suggestion does not prove that the category is the only factor behind it; the guide does not document the complete recommendation logic.
How to turn off Device usage personalization
Disable one category
- Open Settings.
- Go to Personalization > Device usage.
- Find the category you no longer want to use as a preference.
- Switch that category off.
This removes that category from your Device usage choices. You can leave other categories enabled if they still describe how you use the computer.
Opt out of all selected categories
- Open Settings > Personalization > Device usage.
- Turn off every category that is currently enabled.
- Return to the page later if you decide to use Device usage personalization again.
Microsoft Support states, “You can opt out or change your device usage options any time.” The documented control here concerns Device usage choices. It should not be read as a claim that this single page governs every advertising or recommendation control elsewhere in Windows or in individual apps.
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Device usage during Windows 11 setup
Microsoft says Windows may ask about intended use during the initial setup of a PC. That setup prompt and the Settings page serve the same practical purpose: identifying the ways you expect to use the device so Windows can provide more relevant guidance.
If you skip the prompt, choose different answers, or change your routine later, use Settings > Personalization > Device usage to revise the selections. The ability to change the choices later means you do not need to predict every future use of the PC during setup.
Privacy: what Microsoft does and does not say
In its Windows 11 guide, Microsoft says it does not share Device usage data with third parties. That statement is specific to the guide’s description of this setting. The same guide does not explain the technical collection, retention, processing, or recommendation systems behind the choices, so it cannot be used to infer those details.
Turning off a category is the appropriate documented action if you no longer want that category to be part of your Device usage preferences. If your goal is to manage other forms of Windows advertising, diagnostics, account data, or app-level recommendations, look for the separate privacy and app settings that govern those features; Device usage alone is not documented as a universal privacy switch.
If Device usage is not visible
Confirm that you are in Personalization
The documented location is Settings > Personalization > Device usage. It is easy to look under System, Privacy & security, or Accounts because those areas contain other Windows preferences. Use the Settings search box for “Device usage” and then verify that the result opens under Personalization.
Check the Windows edition and interface
The instructions apply to Windows 11. Microsoft’s guide does not list build-specific variations or promise that every Windows 11 installation will display identical wording, so a missing page may reflect an interface or rollout difference. Avoid treating an absent category as evidence that the related feature is unavailable; the guide only documents the Device usage page and its seven category labels.
Do not substitute unrelated controls
Windows contains separate settings for notifications, advertising preferences, app suggestions, and account services. Changing one of those controls is not the same as changing Device usage. For the documented Device usage choice, return to the Personalization page and adjust the category switches there.
Practical examples
A developer who also games
Select Development and Gaming if both are regular purposes. This allows Windows to tailor possible guidance for development and gaming without requiring two user accounts or two installations of Windows. Turn either switch off if that type of suggestion stops being useful.
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Select School when schoolwork is a primary use and you want the type of file-storage guidance Microsoft describes. If the same laptop is also used for creative projects, enable Creativity as well. Remove School after the academic use ends if you no longer want that preference represented.
A household computer
Select Family when family-oriented setup guidance is relevant, and add Entertainment only if entertainment suggestions are wanted. If the PC later becomes a dedicated work computer, revise the categories instead of leaving the old household profile in place.
A business PC used for personal entertainment
Business and Entertainment can coexist because Device usage supports multiple categories. Select both only when recommendations associated with both purposes are useful; otherwise, keep the selection focused on the primary role of the PC.
Quick Recap
Limits and expectations
- Device usage categories are preference choices, not documented hardware or performance profiles.
- Microsoft’s examples are possible outcomes, not guaranteed offers, notifications, pinned apps, or suggestions.
- The guide does not provide a publication date or describe differences by Windows 11 build.
- The guide does not explain the underlying data-processing or recommendation mechanisms in technical detail.
- Microsoft’s statement that it does not share this data with third parties should be understood in the specific context of that support guide.
- You can change or disable the choices later, so an initial setup decision is reversible.
Quick checklist
- Open Settings > Personalization > Device usage.
- Enable only the categories that represent meaningful uses of the PC.
- Use the category descriptions to decide whether tailored tips or recommendations would help.
- Remember that Microsoft’s listed offers and suggestions may not appear for every user.
- Turn off individual switches, or all switches, whenever you want to opt out of Device usage personalization.
- Recheck the page after a change in work, school, family, gaming, creative, or entertainment use.
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