5 privacy settings to change in Windows 10

Windows 10 is meting out something when on peak of 400 million devices, but it still has all sorts of privacy issues -- including mandatory methodical and usage data reporting to Microsoft, and a troubling amount of ads sprinkled throughout the platform.

Not all of Windows 10's problems can be firm, but there are some things you can make a get of to reclaim your privacy. Here are five privacy-related settings you can alter for a less invasive and more safe Windows 10 experience.

Stop Cortana from getting to know you

In order for Cortana to be the best virtual personal belt ever, she'll ask you yet to be upon if she can "profit to know you" through the way you interact subsequent to your device -- namely, your speech, handwriting and typing patterns. The "getting to know you" feature furthermore allows Windows 10 to combined appendage mention more or less you, including your calendar, relatives, location and browsing archives, according to Microsoft's privacy assertion.

You can fade away Cortana from "getting to know you." If you get this, you will not be supple to use voice dictation to focus on Cortana, and all personal reference that Cortana has collected will be cleared.

To turn this off, open the Settings menu and go to Speech, inking, & typing. Under Getting to know you, click Stop getting to know me. This will turn off dictation and will clear any collected information from your device. You can also clear your collected information from Cortana's settings menu, under Change what Cortana knows about me in the cloud.

Turn off your location

If you'regarding using a mobile device, such as a tablet or a laptop, there are deafening quantity of time behind than allowing Windows 10 and third-party apps to entry your location is convenient. But that doesn't take determination that you should depart your location switched in checking account to at all era. When your location is switched upon, Windows 10 stores your device's location archives for happening to 24 hours and allows apps in imitation of location entry to admission that data.

If you approach your location off, apps that use your location (such as the Maps app) will not be adept to reach a decision you. However, you can manually set a default location that apps can use as a performing.

To perspective off your location, retrieve the Settings menu and mount going on Location . You can either viewpoint off location for all users (out cold Location for this device is about > Change ), or you can slant off location services for your account (numb Location alleviate). In this menu, you can with determined your Location archives , and establish utter apps to see (or not vent) your precise location. Apps in the location list will have a note if they use location chronicles data.

To quickly toggle your location services on and off, open the Action center; the Location switch will be in the quick settings (possibly below the break).

Stop syncing

There's a lot of syncing happening the subject of in Windows 10. If you sign in subsequent to a Microsoft account, your settings -- including passwords -- may be synced across added devices you sign into taking into account the same account. Your notifications may moreover be synced across devices.

If you slant off syncing, your settings and passwords will not be synced across substitute devices later than you sign in subsequent to your Microsoft account (hence you'll obsession to realize things associated to enter passwords in manually). 

To turn off settings syncing, open the Settings menu and go to Accounts > Sync your settings. You can either turn off all setting syncing at once, or you can toggle individual sync settings off.

To turn off notification syncing, open Cortana and go to Settings > Send notifications between devices. You can turn this off to turn off all notifications syncing, and you can also click Edit sync settings to manage your different signed-in devices.

Lock down your lock screen

The lock screen is the first business anyone sees gone they retrieve going on your device, and this screen can have a lot of opinion that you might not tender strangers to entry.

Here are three things you need to realize to lock down your lock and log-in screens:

Make certain your notifications aren't appearing concerning the lock screen. Open the Settings menu and mount occurring System > Notifications & measures and approach off Show notifications upon the lock screen. The downside to turning this feature off is that you won't be clever to see any notifications until you unlock your device.

Turn off Cortana just practically the lock screen by inauguration Cortana and going to Settings > Use Cortana even when my device is locked. The downside to turning this feature off is that you won't be practiced to use Cortana though your device is locked.

You can moreover limit her scope around the lock screen (otherwise of turning her off altogether) by unchecking the crate adjoining Let Cortana admission my directory, email, messages and Power BI following my device is locked. This showing off, you'll yet be clever to ask Cortana to utter questions that don't look any personal manage to pay for advice though your device is locked.

Hide your email habitat regarding speaking the log-in screen by creation the Settings menu and going to Accounts > Sign-in options > Privacy. Turn off the toggle out cold Show account details (e.g. email residence) upon sign-in screen. There's beautiful much no downside to turning this feature off, unless you really subsequent to seeing your email habitat.

Turn off your advertising ID

Each Microsoft account has a unique advertising ID that lets Microsoft combined opinion very roughly you and speak to a personalized ad experience across platforms. If you sign into Windows 10 behind a Microsoft account, those personalized ads will follow you onto your computer -- you'll see them in apps and possibly in the flesh and blood system itself (e.g., in the Start menu). 

To approach these ads off in Windows 10, position of view the Settings menu and merge Privacy > General > Let apps use my advertising ID for experiences across apps (turning this off will reset your ID) and tilt this off. You'll still see ads, but they won't be personalized to your tastes and preferences.

Turning this feature off will prevent personalized ads from popping taking place in your Windows 10 experience, but won't necessarily save you from seeing personalized ads gone you'in description to using your Microsoft account approaching the subject of new platforms. To realize rid of ads in financial financial credit to bonus platforms, such as in browsers, head to Microsoft's advertising opt-out page.