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Each toggle changes a different data flow and a different part of Windows. Disabling the advertising ID, for example, does not reduce the number of adverts; it only removes that identifier from the app-ad personalisation process. The practical choice is to decide which signals you are comfortable sharing and where you prefer to see fewer personalised suggestions.
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Find the Recommendations & offers page
In a current Windows 11 installation, go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers. Microsoft documents the page and its controls in Privacy settings for Recommendations & offers in Windows 11.
Microsoft is moving the older General privacy page to this newer name. A computer that has not received the relevant Windows Update can therefore show Privacy & security > General instead. Microsoft does not publish a single build number that defines the change for every device, so the label is determined by the updates installed on your PC. The controls and explanations below apply to the corresponding settings whichever label you see.
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What the five controls affect
| Control | Main signal | Where the effect appears | What it does not control |
|---|---|---|---|
| Get personalized tips, ads, and recommendations based on my Windows activity | Device and usage information, diagnostic data, account information, and information from other Microsoft products and services | Windows tips, recommendations, adverts, and offers | It is not a universal block on every advert or third-party service |
| Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID | A unique Windows advertising ID for each user on the device | Ads in Windows apps that use the identifier | It does not control all interest-based advertising or the number of adverts |
| Let websites show me locally relevant content by accessing my language list | Your preferred-language list | Websites that choose content or language automatically | It does not change your Windows display language |
| Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches | Which installed apps you open | Personalised Start and device-search results | It does not give websites your browsing history |
| Show me suggested content in the Settings app | Your interaction with Settings and related Windows features | Suggestions displayed within Settings | It does not govern adverts inside unrelated apps |
Personalized offers: tips, ads, and recommendations
The first switch, labelled Get personalized tips, ads, and recommendations based on my Windows activity, controls Windows’ broader “personalized offers” experience. When enabled, Microsoft says it may use information about your device and how you use it, Windows diagnostic data, account information, and information from other Microsoft products and services to tailor what Windows suggests.
What you may see when it is enabled
Examples in Microsoft’s documentation include suggestions for Windows features, a streaming application, OneDrive, or additional storage hardware. The wording is intentionally broad: the control covers tips and recommendations as well as advertising-style offers. Some personalization can happen locally on the device rather than requiring every decision to be made remotely.
Diagnostic data and exclusions
Required diagnostic data may be used for these experiences. If you have also enabled optional diagnostic data, Microsoft says information about app and feature use and additional device-health information may be included. Microsoft states that it does not use the content of crash dumps, speech, typing, or inking input to personalize these offers. Those exclusions describe this personalization purpose; they do not mean that every Windows service has identical data practices.
How to turn personalized offers off
- Open Start, then select Settings.
- Select Privacy & security in the left navigation.
- Open Recommendations & offers. If your system still has the older layout, open General.
- Switch Get personalized tips, ads, and recommendations based on my Windows activity to Off.
This setting changes Windows’ use of the listed information for tailored offers. It does not remove every suggestion that an individual app or Microsoft service may display under its own settings.
Advertising ID: the app identifier, not an ad blocker
Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID controls a unique advertising identifier that Windows creates for each user on a device. Windows apps that use this identifier can request more relevant adverts, and an app developer or its advertising partner may associate information it collects with that identifier.
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What switching it off changes
Turning the ID off prevents this particular Windows identifier from being used for that app-ad personalisation. Microsoft’s official explanation is explicit: “Turning the advertising ID off will not reduce the number of ads you see, but it may mean that ads are less interesting and relevant to you.” Ads can still be supplied by an app, a website, or another advertising method.
The setting also does not control all interest-based advertising. Website cookies, other Microsoft mechanisms, and third-party products have their own controls and privacy policies. The older Microsoft overview, General privacy settings in Windows, describes these limits.
Reset behavior
Microsoft says that turning the advertising-ID setting back on resets the identifier. That means apps that rely on it receive a new ID rather than simply resuming use of the old value.
How to change it
- Go to Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers (or General on the older page).
- Find Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID.
- Set the switch to Off. Return it to On only if you want Windows apps to use a newly reset advertising ID.
Language-list access for websites
Let websites show me locally relevant content by accessing my language list allows websites to read the preferred-language list configured for your Windows user account. A site can then offer a matching language or other locally relevant content without making you choose a language manually each time.
This is a preference-sharing control, not a language-change control. Turning it off does not alter your Windows display language, keyboard layout, or the languages installed on the device. It simply withholds the list from websites that request it through the supported Windows and browser mechanisms. Sites can still provide their own language selector.
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- Open Settings from the Start menu.
- Choose Privacy & security, then Recommendations & offers (or General).
- Turn Let websites show me locally relevant content by accessing my language list off or on according to your preference.
App-launch tracking for Start and Search
The Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches switch allows Windows to use which apps you open when personalising Start and device search. The stated purpose is to make frequently used applications easier to find and to tailor the results shown in those Windows surfaces.
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With the switch off, Windows does not use this app-launch signal for that personalisation. Your installed applications remain available, and you can still search for them by name; the trade-off is that Start and Search may be less tailored to your habits.
- Navigate to Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers.
- Locate Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches.
- Choose Off to stop using launches as a personalisation signal, or On to allow it.
Suggested content inside Settings
Show me suggested content in the Settings app governs suggestions that Microsoft displays within Settings itself. These prompts can help users discover Windows features, related content, or applications that Microsoft considers interesting for them.
This is narrower than personalized offers: it concerns the Settings interface rather than every Windows tip, app advert, or web experience. Disabling it removes this category of Settings suggestions but does not alter the other four controls.
- Open Start > Settings > Privacy & security.
- Select Recommendations & offers, or General if that is the page name on your system.
- Switch Show me suggested content in the Settings app to Off.
There is no single “turn off ads” switch here
The five controls operate at different layers. Personalized offers uses a mixture of Windows, account, diagnostic, and Microsoft-service information for tailored Windows experiences. Advertising ID is an app-facing identifier. Language-list access shares a language preference with websites. App-launch tracking affects Start and Search ranking. Suggested content affects the Settings interface.
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Because the layers are separate, turning off one does not silently turn off the others. Someone who wants fewer personalised Windows recommendations may choose to disable personalized offers and Settings suggestions. Someone primarily concerned about app-level profiling may also disable the advertising ID, while understanding that the quantity of adverts will not fall. A person who wants websites to stop receiving language preferences can disable that control independently.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When Windows says settings are managed by your organization
On a work- or school-managed computer, an administrator can enforce privacy choices through Group Policy, mobile-device management (MDM), or registry settings. Microsoft’s Windows Privacy Compliance Guide explains the administrator controls and the distinction between required and optional diagnostic data.
If a policy applies, Windows may display Some settings are hidden or managed by your organization. A greyed-out switch or a value that returns after you change it is usually a policy result, not a broken Settings app. Contact the organization’s administrator rather than attempting to bypass the policy; the available choices are limited by the configuration applied to the device.
If your page still says General
First, confirm that you are looking under Settings > Privacy & security. If the entry is named General, your installation is using the older page label described in Microsoft’s General privacy settings in Windows documentation. Install available Windows updates, restart, and check again, but do not assume that a particular build number guarantees the new name. Microsoft’s support pages describe the transition without publishing one universal rollout boundary for every PC.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11The wording may also differ slightly between Windows 11 releases. Match the function rather than relying only on the heading: advertising ID, language-list access, app-launch tracking, and Settings suggestions are the identifiable controls.
Keyboard and screen-reader navigation
Every control can be reached without a mouse. Microsoft’s accessibility guide, Use a screen reader and keyboard to navigate privacy settings in Windows, documents using Tab to move between controls, the Arrow keys where a list requires them, Enter to open an item, and Spacebar to change a toggle. That guide covers several Windows versions and may use legacy labels, so use the current page name shown on your PC while following its navigation method.
Quick Recap
A practical privacy checklist
- Decide whether tailored Windows tips, adverts, and recommendations are useful enough to share device, usage, diagnostic, account, and related Microsoft-service information.
- Disable the advertising ID if you do not want Windows apps to use that identifier for ad personalisation; expect adverts to remain, potentially with less relevance.
- Disable website language-list access if you prefer to select languages manually instead of sharing your preferred-language list with sites.
- Disable app-launch tracking if you do not want Windows to use the applications you open to tailor Start and Search.
- Disable Settings suggestions if prompts inside the Settings app are distracting.
- On a managed PC, check whether an organization policy determines the available values.
- After a major Windows update, revisit the page because Microsoft’s labels and feature placement can change.
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