- Compatible with:
- Windows
- Available in:
- Desktop Security version 5
Note: The Privacy Controls dashboard is only available on Windows 10 and 11 devices.
The Privacy Controls dashboard lets you adjust your Windows privacy settings with ease directly from within the Desktop Security app. You can use these settings to toggle off third-party content on your device and control privacy-impacting features such as ads, personalized content, or activity tracking. Turning off these features can help reduce unwanted data collection and improve your overall online security.
Manage Privacy Controls
To view your privacy controls:
- Open the app.
- Click the Privacy Controls
icon in the left side bar.
- On the Privacy Controls page, review and toggle the available settings on or off:
- Disable all privacy-impacting features: This will turn off all privacy-impacting features, including everything in this list. Click Disable all if you want complete privacy on your device.
- Allow third-party apps to use your Advertising ID: Turn this off to limit the number of personalized apps on your device.
- Allow third-party content on your Start menu: Turn this off to remove distracting content on your Start menu. This setting is only available on Windows 11.
- Allow third-party content on your lock screen: Turn this off to remove distracting content on your lock screen. This setting is only available on Windows 11.
- Allow Windows to show you ads in notifications: Turn this off to prevent ads from appearing in your Windows notifications.
- Allow Microsoft to use Windows diagnostic data: Turn this off to prevent your Windows diagnostic data from being used to personalize your experience. This setting is only available on Windows 11.
- Allow Windows to show you suggestions in the Settings app: Turn this off to prevent suggested content from appearing in your Windows Settings. This setting is only available on Windows 11.
- Allow web search apps to show results in Start Menu or Taskbar Search: Turn this setting off to prevent your search results from Bing or other apps from appearing in your Start Menu or Taskbar Search.