18 Windows 11 Settings You Should Change First

Windows 11 is capable out of the box, but its defaults lean toward Microsoft's own services, ads, and telemetry rather than your speed and privacy. The good news: almost everything worth changing lives in the Settings app, takes a couple of minutes, and costs nothing. Here are the 18 settings we change first on any fresh Windows 11 machine — grouped by privacy, performance, security, and the quality-of-life features Microsoft hides.

Privacy settings to change

1. Turn off your Advertising ID

Go to Settings → Privacy & security → General and switch off "Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID." This stops Windows tying a unique profile of your activity to ad targeting across apps. It won't remove ads, but it ends the behavioral profiling, and disabling it breaks nothing.

2. Disable tailored experiences

In the same General section, turn off "Let websites show me locally relevant content" and "Show me suggested content in the Settings app." These feed your data into personalized tips and upsells dressed up as suggestions. Switching them off makes the system quieter and less nosy.

3. Set diagnostic data to the minimum

Open Privacy & security → Diagnostics & feedback and set diagnostic data to the lowest option your edition allows (Required only). This cuts the optional telemetry — app usage, browsing and typing patterns, detailed device info — that Windows sends back by default, while keeping the essential security and update data flowing.

4. Turn off inking and typing personalization

Under Privacy & security → Inking & typing personalization, switch it off so Windows stops collecting samples of what you type and write to build a personal dictionary. Most people never benefit from it, and it's pure data collection otherwise.

5. Review app permissions

Work through Privacy & security → App permissions and audit Location, Camera, and Microphone. Revoke access from anything that has no business needing it. It's the single highest-value privacy check, and it takes two minutes.

6. Check Recall (Copilot+ PCs only)

If you have a Copilot+ PC, Microsoft's Recall feature periodically snapshots your screen so you can search what you saw earlier. It's opt-in and encrypted now, but if you'd rather it didn't exist, confirm it's off under Settings → Privacy & security → Recall & snapshots. On non-Copilot+ machines it simply isn't present.

Performance settings to change

7. Set the power mode to Best Performance

Under System → Power (or Power & battery), set the power mode to Best Performance. Windows often defaults to a balanced profile that quietly throttles your hardware. On a laptop, keep the charger handy since this uses more battery, but the responsiveness gain is immediate.

8. Turn on Storage Sense

Enable Storage Sense under System → Storage so Windows automatically clears temporary files, empties the recycle bin, and tidies old downloads on a schedule. A drive kept comfortably below full stays noticeably faster.

9. Turn off Widgets

Go to Settings → Personalization → Taskbar and switch off Widgets. The panel runs Microsoft Start feeds in the background, eating memory and CPU you'd rather spend elsewhere — the difference is most obvious on modest laptops.

10. Clean up the Start menu

Under Personalization → Start, turn off "Show recently added apps," "Show recommended files," and the Microsoft 365 / account recommendations. It declutters the launcher and stops it broadcasting your recent activity, which matters on a shared machine.

11. Adjust visual effects for performance

Search "Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows" and choose "Adjust for best performance," or untick the heaviest effects like animations and transparency individually. The interface looks plainer but responds faster, especially on older hardware.

Security settings to change

12. Turn on device encryption

Open Privacy & security → Device encryption (or BitLocker on Pro). A clean install on supported hardware often enables it automatically, but a PC upgraded in place may still be unencrypted. If the toggle is off and your hardware supports it, switch it on and back up the recovery key — it's the one thing that keeps a lost or stolen laptop's files unreadable.

13. Enable Core Isolation (Memory Integrity)

In Windows Security → Device security → Core isolation, switch Memory integrity to On. It uses hardware virtualization to stop malware injecting code into high-security processes. If it refuses to enable, an incompatible driver is usually the cause — update or remove it, then try again.

14. Set up Windows Hello and keep updates current

Configure Windows Hello (fingerprint, face, or a PIN) under Accounts → Sign-in options for faster, more secure logins, and run Windows Update to fully current. Given the size of recent security patches, staying updated is no longer optional.

15. Turn on secure DNS

Under Network & internet → your connection → Hardware properties → DNS server assignment, enable DNS over HTTPS. Encrypting your DNS lookups stops your network and ISP trivially logging every domain you visit — a real privacy gain with no downside.

Quality-of-life features Microsoft buries

16. Enable Clipboard history

Turn on Clipboard history under System → Clipboard, then press Windows + V to pull up everything you've copied recently. Once you've used it, copying one thing at a time feels broken.

17. Turn on Night Light and tame notifications

Under System → Display, schedule Night Light to cut blue light in the evening. Then open System → Notifications to switch off the noise from apps that don't deserve it, and set Do Not Disturb hours so the machine stops interrupting you.

18. Set your default apps

Head to Settings → Apps → Default apps to set your preferred browser, PDF reader, and media player rather than living with Microsoft's picks. While you're there, Snap layouts (System → Multitasking) is worth enabling for fast window tiling — hover the maximize button to use it.