Microsoft collects data through its telemetry system that was introduced with Windows 10.
If you don't want to disable telemetry entirely, you can allow Microsoft to collect only the most vital data. If you're running the Windows 10 or 11 Home edition, this is your only option because Microsoft doesn't allow disabling telemetry for Home edition users.
To limit data collection on Windows, you'll need to change the settings so that Microsoft stops collecting "optional data."
Win + I and navigate to Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback. Toggle the button beside Send optional diagnostic data off.
Once you do this, Microsoft will only collect data about your hardware, system settings, and whether your system is functioning properly.
Disable Telemetry Using the Group Policy Editor
press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. Use the left sidebar to navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Data Collection and Preview Builds.
Switch to the right pane and double-click Allow Diagnostic Data. Note that if you're on Windows 10 (and not Windows 11), you'll see Allow Telemetry as a listed setting instead of Allows Diagnostic Data.
Once you double-click, a window should pop up. By default, it's set to Not Configured. Select Disabled instead and click OK.
How to Disable Telemetry Using Registry Editor
You can also use the Windows registry to disable telemetry. However, always be sure to back up your registry before making any changes.
Note that, like the previous methods, this method won't disable telemetry on Windows 10 and 11 Home editions.
To launch the Registry Editor, press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection. Then, right-click in the whitespace in the right pane, and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the value Allow Telemetry. Double-click on the new value, insert Value data as 0, and click OK.
Once you're done, exit the Registry Editor restart the PC.
How to Disable Telemetry by Disabling Its Service
press Win + R, type services.msc, and press Enter. Search for a service named Connected User Experiences and Telemetry. Double-click on the service to launch service properties.
Stay in the General tab and change Startup type to Disabled. ther service named Device Management Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) Push message Routing Service. Disable it the same way. Restart your PC, and you're done.
You can also use the Command Prompt to disable these services if you don't want to spend time looking for these services. Press Win + R, type cmd, and press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to launch the Command Prompt as an administrator.
Then, run the following commands one by one: sc config DiagTrack start= disabledsc config dmwappushservice start= disabled
restart the PC, and you'll have disabled data collection on your PC.