Tip 9: Changing Browser’s Search Engine Settings to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

Changing your browser’s search engine in Windows can enhance privacy. Default search engines often track and store your searches, compromising privacy. Switch to a privacy-focused browser like DuckDuckGo. This minimizes data collection and targeted ads.

  • Open Browser Settings: Navigate to your browser’s settings menu. This is usually represented by three dots or lines in the top-right corner of the window.
  • Clear Browsing Data: Periodically clear your browsing history, cookies, and cache. This helps remove stored information about your online activities.
  • Browser Extensions: Some extensions can also harm your privacy. It may collect and misuse your data. So it is crucial to download extensions only from trusted sources.

Also, you can check out Best Antiviruses for Secure Browsing. Beware that using default search engines may expose your search habits to third parties, potentially leading to personalized ads or data profiling.

How to Protect Your Privacy on Windows?

We use Windows in our way. We search for various things on the web, install several apps on our computers, watch our favourite videos, and do many more things. Usually, we want to keep all of our activities private. In other words, we want them to be restricted to ourselves. But often, some settings on our PC cause our privacy to be exposed to third-party applications, which is not at all a good thing.

In today’s article, we are going to look at 9 Tips on how to protect your privacy on Windows and keep your online activities safe and secure. Let’s get started.

Table of Content

  • Tip 1: Turn off the Advertising ID to Protect Your Privacy on Windows
  • Tip 2: Turn off Location Tracking to Protect Your Privacy on Windows
  • Tip 3: Turn off Activity History to Protect Your Privacy on Windows
  • Tip 4: Turn off Diagnostic Data to Protect Your Privacy on Windows
  • Tip 5: Curb Cortana to Protect Your Privacy on Windows
  • Tip 6: Change App Permissions to Protect Your Privacy on Windows
  • Tip 7: Turn off Inking & Typing Personalization to Protect Your Privacy on Windows
  • Tip 8: Turn off App Diagnostics to Protect Your Privacy on Windows
  • Tip 9: Changing Browser’s Search Engine Settings to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

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Tip 1: Turn off the Advertising ID to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

Windows records your activity when you search the web or install applications on your PC. This record is usually a profile that contains all of the topics you are interested in. These interests are gathered from your day-to-day activity on the Windows platform. This profile is used by various companies to target ads that are personalized for you. So, you will see ads more relevant to you, but all of your activities are exposed to the outside world....

Tip 2: Turn off Location Tracking to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

Wherever you are with your laptop, be it your home or a restaurant, your location is captured by Windows. It tracks your location all the time and feeds the location data to applications like Weather, Maps, etc. This is not necessarily a bad thing as these apps use this data to give you personalized updates. However your location is fully tracked, it might be used by people who are operating in an unethical manner. Hence, stopping your location from being tracked is the optimal solution to this problem....

Tip 3: Turn off Activity History to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

When you browse your PC, Windows stores all the information about it. It stores all your activity, which includes the websites you visit, the apps you use, and all the other things you do. This could be a privacy concern for many people. If you are not an exception, then you most likely need to turn it off. Go to Settings > Privacy > Activity history. You will see a checkbox that says Store my activity on this device. Uncheck it and Windows will immediately stop storing your activity history....

Tip 4: Turn off Diagnostic Data to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

According to Windows, the diagnostic data it collects is used to keep Windows secure and updated. So Upgrade your windows now, No more excuses, check out How to Upgrade From Windows 10 to Windows 11 For Free!...

Tip 5: Curb Cortana to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

Cortana is a virtual assistant that performs various tasks on behalf of the user, such as setting reminders and answering questions. Though it is a useful app, it collects a good amount of information from the user. This can result in your privacy being exposed. So, to turn it off, go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features. Find Cortana from the list of apps, click on it, and then click on Advanced options....

Tip 6: Change App Permissions to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

You can also change your app permissions to be more secure. Go to Settings > Apps > Apps & features and click on an app whose permissions you want to change  Go to the advanced options to see the permission controls. In our case, we were trying to prevent the Camera app from accessing our microphone. So, we navigated to the app’s permission control page and disabled its microphone access....

Tip 7: Turn off Inking & Typing Personalization to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

Your typing history is sent to Microsoft so that you can get better word suggestions when you type. This might be useful, but it might also be a privacy concern for many people. So, turn it off to be more secure. Go to Settings > Privacy > Inking & typing personalization. Turn off the button you see on the page to prevent your typing data from being sent to Microsoft....

Tip 8: Turn off App Diagnostics to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

You can also stop Windows from tracking your day-to-day app usage by tweaking a simple setting. Go to Settings > Privacy > App diagnostics. Under Allow access to app diagnostic info on this device, you will see a button. Turn it off to make your app activity private....

Tip 9: Changing Browser’s Search Engine Settings to Protect Your Privacy on Windows

Changing your browser’s search engine in Windows can enhance privacy. Default search engines often track and store your searches, compromising privacy. Switch to a privacy-focused browser like DuckDuckGo. This minimizes data collection and targeted ads....

Conclusion

So, we have seen above some settings that you need to change in order to use your PC more securely. By adjusting these settings, you regain control over your search data and mitigate privacy risks. So, change these settings and resume watching your favorite videos!...

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