10 Ways to Improve Privacy on Windows 10

In the digital world, there is always a risk of privacy intervention and risk of data loss for most computer users if their platform is not protected. There is an increasing number of cyberattacks each day, and there is no stopping to those attacks.

Under these conditions, a user can only look for the best ways to improve the privacy of their system. In this post, I am going to show you the 10 ways through which you can improve privacy on Windows 10 computer system.

1. Turn off Advertisements

Windows 10 can show you a number of ads on certain apps and browsers, and you can turn those off just for the sake of privacy. Follow these steps.

• Click the Start button.
• Then select Settings and then click on Privacy.
• Go to the General tab to choose Change privacy options.
• Then turn off the options “Let apps use advertising ID for experience across apps”.

2. Disable Cortana

Cortana collects lots of data to provide suggestions in the result. You can follow these steps to protect your data from getting to cloud services.

• Open Cortana and select Settings.
• Turn off the options given in the Settings.

3. Turn Off Wi-Fi Sense

Windows 10’s has a great feature called the Wi-Fi Sense that is actually designed to easily let people share their Wi-Fi connections. If you are thinking that your data may be shared or your privacy is invaded through friends of friends, then you can turn this feature off. Otherwise, it’s not a threat, but to be sure, you can turn off WiFi Sense. To do this, follow these steps.

• Go to the Settings and then select Network and Internet
• Click on Wi-Fi and select Manage Wi-Fi Settings.
• You will get all of the settings for Wifi here, and you can also set how Wi-Fi Sense should be used.

4. Turn Off Location Tracking

Windows 10 has a location tracking system that tells the Windows that you are there. It helps the operating system basically by giving you the relevant information related to nearby places and local weather situations. In case you feel that you don’t want Windows 10 to track your location, then you can turn off this feature.

• Go to the Settings app
• Then select Privacy > Location
• Click on the Change button and then select from the slider to turn on or off
• When you turn off the slider, it turns off all location tracking system for nearby places for every user on the PC

5. Turn Off Ad Tracking

Whatever a user does on the web; the information creates a profile of that person’s interests in a database that is then used by a variety of companies to target them for their ads. Windows 10 uses an advertising ID that gathers your info when you surf on the web, as well as when you are using any apps on the Windows platform. You can turn the advertising ID off by following the method.

• Launch Settings and then go to Privacy
• Click on the General tab from which you will be able to see a list of choices under “Change privacy options.”
• The first option is for the advertising ID from which you can move the slider to On or Off.
• It may still show you some ads, but they are only generic that won’t be able to invade your privacy in any way.

6. Apps

There are preinstalled apps in Windows 10 like Mail, Calendar, Groove Music, Photos, and the others which you download later from the store. These apps have a single on-off switch through which you can enable or disable them with your choice.

Turn off the to disable all access from these apps so that they may not run automatically and share your data anywhere else. You can use approve or stop list of apps that are installed on the system to improve your privacy.

7. Your Input

Windows 10 has a built-in feature that uses feedback to store info when you type, write, and speak using the Windows platform. It is basically a way to improve the overall platform, but you can stop this feature too if you think you are not secured enough. Follow these steps.

• Go to Settings and click Privacy.
• Select the Speech option.
• Turn off the Online Speech Recognition feature.
• Click on Inking & Typing Personalization.
• After that, turn off the Getting To Know You button.

8. Browser

Browsers are sharing your data through web connectivity, and this can also be risky as your personal info may be at risk. You can turn on the security for your browser and only use limited access and sources through the browser without allowing any ads or advertisements in it.

Adblock Plus is one free add-on that lets you disable ads completely from your Windows 10 internet browsers.

9. Disable OneDrive Sync

OneDrive Syncs all of your data, and you can turn it off to improve your privacy on Windows 10 by following these steps.

• From the taskbar, click on the arrow facing upwards on the right side.
• Locate the OneDrive app icon and open it.
• Then select the Settings option.
• Uncheck the two options that say Start OneDrive automatically, and the other Let Me Use OneDrive.
• Press OK to save the settings.

10. Disable Windows 10 Sync

Windows 10 Syncs all the data, including the preferences of your device. Any password and other data are stored through sync. You can stop it or disable it by following these steps.

• Go to settings
• Click accounts
• Select Sync your settings
• Turn off the Sync Settings, and sync will be off.

Conclusion

You’ve seen 10 of the best and super easy ways to improve privacy on Windows 10. What’s your take on them?  Leave a comment in the box below to join the discussion.

FAQ’s