[Fix] Drives Appearing Twice in Navigation Pane of Windows 10 Explorer “This PC”

Today we are going to address a weird problem or you can say a bug in Windows 10operating system. Many readers have reported this issue. Some of them faced this issue when they upgraded from Windows 10 RTM to the recently released November Update (TH2) and some people faced it after upgrading from Windows 10 RTM to any Insider Preview build.

Since the release of Windows 10, Microsoft has added a new feature to Windows Explorer or This PC. Whenever you attach a removable drive such as USB drive or external hard disk, a separate icon of the drive is shown in the left-side Navigation Pane. Also the same drive icon is shown under This PC section, so you get double entries of the same removable drive in Navigation Pane. It was done to provide quick access to removable drives but having two duplicate drive icons in Navigation Pane becomes confusing sometimes.

But that's not the problem which we are going to talk about. The problem is, manyWindows 10 users are getting double entries of fixed hard disk drives in Navigation Pane of This PC. For many users, Windows 10 is showing many drives twice in Navigation Pane just like it does for removable drives. But the problem is those duplicate drives are not removable. The drives are fixed hard disk drives.

Following are 2 different screenshots which were shared by our readers. You can see the issue in the screenshots:

If you are also facing this duplicate drive entries problem in Windows 10, this tutorial will help you in fixing the issue and removing the double drive entries from Navigation Pane of This PC.

To fix this annoying issue, you just need to remove a key from Registry Editor which is responsible for showing removable drive icons separately in This PC's Navigation Pane. Since somehow Windows 10 detects the hard disk drives as removable drives and shows their icons twice in Navigation Pane, we can disable the built-in feature to show removable drive icons separately in Navigation Pane to fix this bug or issue.

The trick to remove removable drive duplicate entry from Navigation Pane has been given in the Part 5 of the above mentioned tutorial.

For your convenience, we are going to provide the same solution again here:

1. Press WIN+R keys together to open RUN dialog box. You can also open it from WIN+X menu. Now type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders

3. Under "DelegateFolders" key, you'll find {F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83} key.

4. Now delete the {F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83} key and it'll immediately remove the duplicate drive icons from This PC's Navigation Pane.

Now you'll no longer see any drive icon twice in the Navigation Pane of This PC.

NOTE: If you are using 64-bit edition of Windows 10, you may notice that the drive icon is still present in "Browse" dialog box such as Save, Save as or Open in some 3rd party 32-bit programs. To remove the duplicate drive icon from there, you'll need to perform the same steps in following key as well:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace\DelegateFolders

Under "DelegateFolders" key, delete {F5FB2C77-0E2F-4A16-A381-3E560C68BC83} key.

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[Review] Microsoft Edge (or Spartan) Web Browser in Windows 10

UPDATE: Review has been updated with new information and screenshots for Windows 10 November Update build 10586 (Threshold 2).

"Microsoft Edge" (previously known as Project Spartan) is the new web browser introduced in Microsoft's latest OS Windows 10.

Since when Microsoft has implemented Edge web browser in Windows 10, many people are confused about this new web browser addition and they all ask similar questions such as why another web browser when we already have the built-in Internet Explorer web browser in Windows OS? The answer is, to provide better compatibility, better performance and better support for modern web. Microsoft Edge web browser has been developed to attract more Windows users so that they don't have to install other 3rd party web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome or Opera.

People also ask whether Internet Explorer is still a part of Windows 10 or not? Has Microsoft removed Internet Explorer from Windows 10 OS? The answer is NO. Microsoft will never remove Internet Explorer from Windows OS as its a main component of the OS.Windows 10 comes with both web browsers: Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. 

In Windows 10, Internet Explorer remains almost unchanged from Windows 8.1. It continues to use its legacy rendering engine for compatibility with websites. The main purpose behind keeping IE in Windows 10 is the support for intranet and enterprises.

Microsoft Edge, on the other hand, features a new rendering engine to support modern HTML websites and to provide better compatibility and performance. Microsoft Edge is the new default web browser in Windows 10.

Now lets talk about new features and user interface of Microsoft Edge web browser in Windows 10:

Clean and Minimal UI

Edge web browser works as a modern (metro) app. It features a clean and minimal UI which looks very nice. The tabs are shown in the titlbar to save screen space. Addressbar along with toolbar buttons such as back, forward, refresh, reading view, bookmark, hub, web note, share, etc is shown below tab bar as shown in following screenshot:

Menus and Options

The 3 dots (...) icon at the extreme right corner of toolbar launches the menu options which are as following:

• New window
• New InPrivate window
• Zoom level
• Cast media to device
• Find on page
• Print
• Pin this page to Start
• F12 Developer Tools
• Open with Internet Explorer
• Send feedback
• Settings

The "Open with Internet Explorer" option might come very handy if you want to open a web page in Internet Explorer directly from Edge browser.

The Settings page shows all available options in a single screen which is a nice idea as it saves time while changing settings. Following settings are available to change or customize:

• Choose a theme (Light or Dark)
• Open with (Start page, New tab page, Previous pages or Specific pages)
• Open new tabs with (Top sites and suggested content, Top sites only or A blank page)
• Favorites settings (Show the favorites bar, Import favorites from another browser)
• Clear browsing data (history, cookies, cache, passwords, etc)
• Sync your content (favorites and reading list)
• Reading view style (Default, Light, Medium or Dark)
• Reading view font size (Small, Medium, Large or Extra Large)

Some extra settings are given under "Advanced Settings" section:

• Show the home button (On/Off)
• Block pop-ups (On/Off)
• Use Adobe Flash Player (On/Off)
• Proxy setup
• Offer to save passwords (On/Off)
• Manage my saved passwords
• Save form entries (On/Off)
• Send Do Not Track requests (On/Off)
• Have Cortana assist me in Microsoft Edge (On/Off)
• Search in the address bar with (Bing or Add new search engine)
• Show search suggestions as I type (On/Off)
• Cookies (Block all, Block only third party cookies, Don't block cookies)
• Let sites save protected media licenses on my device (On/Off)
• Use page prediction (or flip ahead feature) to speed up browsing, improve reading and make my overall experience better (On/Off)
• Help protect me from malicious sites and downloads with SmartScreen Filter (On/Off)

Dark Theme Mode

Microsoft has added an extra option to enable Dark theme in Edge browser. As mentioned above, you can enable Dark theme from Edge Settings -> Choose a theme option.

It looks amazing after applying Dark theme as shown in following screenshot:

Once you apply the tweak, you'll see all modern (metro) apps running in Dark theme mode as shown in following screenshot:

Hidden Secret About:Flags Page

When Windows 10 was under development and testing, Microsoft added a secret "about:flags" page in Internet Explorer web browser to test experimental web platform features.

But when Microsoft added the new "Microsoft Edge" web browser in Windows 10, they removed the "about:flags" page from Internet Explorer and put the page into Edge web browser.

You can access this secret page by typing about:flags in Edge addressbar. It contains many interesting features in 2 categories:

• Developer Settings
• Experimental Features

You can enable / disable many experimental features given on the page.

Other Interesting Features

Following are other new and interesting features which have been implemented in Edge:

• New rendering engine to support modern web
• Cortana (digital personal assistant) integration to provide relevant information in web pages
• Annotations (Inking support) to write or type directly on web pages to create web notes and then share them with friends
• Reading view mode for distraction-free reading where only the text and images of the main article are shown without any extra thing
• Reading lists to allow users to add web pages for future reading
• Extensions support similar to 3rd party browsers

Since Microsoft will keep updating Windows 10 operating system via future builds as a part of "Windows as a service" initiative, We may see many new features in Microsoft Edge browser in future and many things may change as well. But Edge looks really promising. Good job Microsoft...

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[Guide] How to Remove All Built-in Apps in Windows 10

UPDATE: Tutorial updated to include instructions for removing new apps such asMessaging, Phone, Skype Video and Sway present in the new Windows 10November Update build 10586 (Threshold 2).

The methods given in above mentioned tutorial can't uninstall all built-in apps. There are many built-in apps such as Photos, Music, OneNote, Xbox, People, Camera, etc which come preinstalled with Windows 10 and you can't uninstall them.

But there is an advanced method which can be used to get rid of all or specific built-in apps in Windows 10. You can remove any desired bundled app in Windows 10 with the help of this method.

The method we are talking about, includes use of PowerShell program present in Windows 10. You can use some commands in PowerShell to remove all or some modern apps which came bundled with Windows 10.

We have divided this tutorial in following parts for your convenience:

• PART 1: Remove a specific built-in app in Windows 10
• PART 2: Remove all built-in apps in Windows 10
• PART 3: Reinstall/restore all or a specific built-in app in Windows 10

Now lets start the tutorial:

STEP 1:

First of all we need to open PowerShell as Administrator to execute the required commands.

Open Start Menu and type powershell. It'll automatically start searching for the program and will show PowerShell in search results. Now press Ctrl+Shift+Enter keys together to launch PowerShell as Administrator. Alternatively, you can right-click on PowerShell and select "Run as Administrator" option.

PS: If you have replaced Command Prompt with PowerShell in WIN+X menu, you can directly launch it from there. 

STEP 2:

Now you'll need to execute commands in PowerShell as mentioned in following steps:

PART 1: Remove a Specific Built-in App in Windows 10

You can take help of Get-AppxPackage and Remove-AppxPackage commands to uninstall/remove built-in apps in Windows 10.

Get-AppxPackage command can be used to get a list of all installed modern apps in your computer. Remove-AppxPackage command is used to remove an app from Windows 10 computer.

If you want to remove an app, these commands will require an essential information about that app i.e. PackageFullName (the full package name of the modern app).

So first we'll need to get the PackageFullName of our desired modern app which we want to remove from our computer.

1. Just run following command in PowerShell to get a list of all installed apps:

Get-AppxPackage

This command will output a long list of all installed apps containing lots of information about each app. But we only need the PackageFullName information of our desired app, so run following filtered command:

Get-AppxPackage | Select Name, PackageFullName

This command will show only the name of the app and its PackageFullName information. Now the output will be easy to read and understand.

2. Now select the PackageFullName information of your desired app and press Enter key to copy it to clipboard.

3. Now to remove the app from your computer, you'll need to run following command:

Get-AppxPackage PackageFullName | Remove-AppxPackage

In above mentioned command, replace PackageFullName with the copied information from step 2. You can also take help of wildcards (such as *) to make the PackageFullName parameter easy to type.

For example, if you want to remove 3DBuilder app, the command to remove it will be as following:

Get-AppxPackage *3dbuilder* | Remove-AppxPackage

OR

Get-AppxPackage *3d* | Remove-AppxPackage

It'll take a few moments in uninstalling the app. If you see any error after completion of the command, ignore it. You may need to restart the computer.

NOTE:

The above mentioned command "Get-AppxPackage PackageFullName | Remove-AppxPackage" uninstalls the app from your current user account only. If you want to uninstall the app from all user accounts, you can use following command format:

Get-AppxPackage -allusers PackageFullName | Remove-AppxPackage

And if you want to remove the app from any particular user account, use following command:

Get-AppxPackage -user username PackageFullName | Remove-AppxPackage

Replace username term in above mentioned command with the correct user account name.

PS:

For your convenience, we are providing ready-made commands to remove built-in apps in Windows 10. Just copy the desired command and paste it in PowerShell window usingCtrl+V hotkey and press Enter:

To uninstall Messaging and Skype Video apps together:
get-appxpackage *messaging* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Sway:
get-appxpackage *sway* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Phone:
get-appxpackage *commsphone* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Phone Companion:
get-appxpackage *windowsphone* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Phone and Phone Companion apps together:
get-appxpackage *phone* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Calendar and Mail apps together:
get-appxpackage *communicationsapps* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall People:
get-appxpackage *people* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Groove Music:
get-appxpackage *zunemusic* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Movies & TV:
get-appxpackage *zunevideo* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Groove Music and Movies & TV apps together:
get-appxpackage *zune* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Money:
get-appxpackage *bingfinance* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall News:
get-appxpackage *bingnews* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Sports:
get-appxpackage *bingsports* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Weather:
get-appxpackage *bingweather* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Money, News, Sports and Weather apps together:
get-appxpackage *bing* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall OneNote:
get-appxpackage *onenote* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Alarms & Clock:
get-appxpackage *alarms* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Calculator:
get-appxpackage *calculator* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Camera:
get-appxpackage *camera* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Photos:
get-appxpackage *photos* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Maps:
get-appxpackage *maps* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Voice Recorder:
get-appxpackage *soundrecorder* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Xbox:
get-appxpackage *xbox* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Microsoft Solitaire Collection:
get-appxpackage *solitaire* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Get Office:
get-appxpackage *officehub* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Get Skype:
get-appxpackage *skypeapp* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Get Started:
get-appxpackage *getstarted* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall 3D Builder:
get-appxpackage *3dbuilder* | remove-appxpackage

To uninstall Windows Store: (Be very careful!)
get-appxpackage *windowsstore* | remove-appxpackage

As you may have noticed, in Windows 10 you can uninstall Windows Store as well, so be very careful while uninstalling Windows Store app. We advise you to not remove Windows Store app to stay on safe side.

PART 2: Remove All Built-in Apps in Windows 10

If you want, you can uninstall all built-in modern apps in a single step using following command:

Get-AppxPackage | Remove-AppxPackage

The above mentioned command will uninstall the apps from your current user account only.

Command to uninstall all built-in apps for all user accounts:

Get-AppxPackage -allusers | Remove-AppxPackage

Command to uninstall all built-in apps for a particular user account:

Get-AppxPackage -user username | Remove-AppxPackage

NOTE: We'll not advise you to uninstall all built-in apps using these commands as it may break some functionality of Windows 10 OS. Also you may not be able to restore all modern apps in future.

PART 3: Reinstall/Restore All or a Specific Built-in App in Windows 10

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[Windows 10 Tip] Disable Data Collection and Telemetry in Windows Defender

The most popular and talked about feature of Microsoft's latest operating systemWindows 10 is the data collection and telemetry. There is no doubt that Windows 10 is the best Windows version released ever and it comes with so many new features and enhancements. Also its faster and more reliable than any previous Windows version.

But people are worried about their privacy and automatic collection and sending of data to Microsoft. Although Microsoft has made it clear several times that the data is collected anonymously and only some basic data is collected to improve the operating system functionality and to make it better.

To help Windows 10 users in improving their privacy, Microsoft has provided several options in Settings app which can be customized to stop automatic data collection and telemetry in Windows 10. 

Today in this article, we are going to cover a built-in program in Windows 10 which deserves a separate article for it. The program we are talking about is Windows Defender, Microsoft's official antivirus and anti-spyware/malware program for Windows operating system.

Windows Defender provides antivirus and anti-spyware protection to Windows 10 users so you don't need to use any extra security software in Windows 10. But there are a few options in Windows Defender which automatically sends some user data to Microsoft. Fortunately you can customize those options to turn off the sending of data to Microsoft.

So if you are using Windows 10 and Windows Defender program and want maximum privacy, you can disable these telemetry options to stop automatic data sending to Microsoft.

For your convenience, we have divided this tutorial in following 4 parts:

• PART 1: Turn Off Telemetry Options Using Settings App
• PART 2: Turn Off Automatic Sample Submission to Microsoft Using Group Policy
• PART 3: Turn Off Automatic Sample Submission to Microsoft Using Registry Editor
• PART 4: Disable Windows Defender Completely

So without wasting time lets start the tutorial:

PART 1: Turn Off Telemetry Options Using Settings App

Microsoft automatically collects some sample files from Windows Defender to improve the antivirus and anti-malware protection and to make Windows Defender better. Microsoft also collects information about suspicious items found by Windows Defender in your computer to provide cloud-based protection.

You can disable both these features to stop automatic sending of any data or file samples to Microsoft using following steps:

1. Open Start Menu and click on Settings option. It'll open Settings app. Alternatively, you can direct open Settings app using WIN+I hotkey.

2. Now click on "Update & security" icon and in Windows Defender tab, set following two options to Off:

• Get better, faster protection by sending Microsoft info about potential security problems Windows Defender finds - Off
• Help us make Windows Defender better by sending Microsoft samples so we can improve our anti-virus and malware measures. Turn this off to be prompted before sending samples to Microsoft- Off

That's it. Now Windows 10 will not send info about security problems and will always prompt you before sending samples to Microsoft.

PART 2: Turn Off Automatic Sample Submission to Microsoft Using Group Policy

Turning off the second option "Automatic sample submission" as mentioned above doesn't disable the automatic sending of sample data to Microsoft. It just sets the sending option to always prompt before sending. So in other words, Windows Defender will still continue sending samples to Microsoft but after your approval.

If you want to completely disable this automatic sample submission feature in Windows Defender, you can use following method:

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type gpedit.msc in RUN and press Enter. It'll open Group Policy Editor.

2. Now go to:

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Defender -> MAPS

3. In right-side pane, double-click on "Send file samples when further analysis is required" option, set it to Enabled and then select "Never send" from the drop-down box. Apply the changes.

4. You can also double-click on "Join Microsoft MAPS" option, set it to Enabled and then select "Disabled" from the drop-down box. Apply the changes. It'll opt you out of MAPS (Microsoft Antimalware Protection Service).

Close Group Policy Editor and restart your computer.

PART 3: Turn Off Automatic Sample Submission to Microsoft Using Registry Editor

Windows 10 Home edition doesn't contain Group Policy Editor. If you are using Home edition of Windows 10 or if you can't use or don't want to use Group Policy Editor, you can take help of Registry Editor for the same task.

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type regedit in RUN and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender

3. Create a new key under Windows Defender key and set its name as Spynet

4. Now in right-side pane, create new DWORD SubmitSamplesConsent and set its value to 2

5. Again create a new DWORD SpynetReporting and set its value to 0

That's it. Close Registry Editor and restart your computer to take effect. Now Windows Defender will no longer send any sample data to Microsoft.

PART 4: Disable Windows Defender Completely

If you don't want to use Windows Defender and want to permanently disable Windows Defender in Windows 10, following steps will help you:

PS: We recommend you to not disable Windows Defender as it provides antivirus and anti-spyware protection. If you really want to disable Windows Defender, make sure to install another antivirus and anti-spyware program in your computer.

METHOD 1: Disable Windows Defender Using Group Policy Editor

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type gpedit.msc in RUN and press Enter. It'll open Group Policy Editor.

2. Now go to:

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Windows Defender

3. In right-side pane, double-click on "Turn off Windows Defender" option and set it toEnabled.

METHOD 2: Disable Windows Defender Using Registry Editor

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type regedit in RUN and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender

3. In right-side pane, create a new DWORD DisableAntiSpyware and set its value to 1

That's it. Restart your computer to take effects. Above mentioned both methods will permanently disable Windows Defender in Windows 10.

NOTE: If you are not familiar with Registry editing tasks, we are also providing ready-made Registry script to do the task automatically. Download following ZIP file, extract it and run .REG file. It'll ask for confirmation, accept it:

Registry Script to Disable Windows Defender Telemetry Options in Windows 10

The ZIP file also contains Registry script to restore default Windows Defender options.

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[Guide] Best Privacy Settings for Windows 10

UPDATE: Tutorial updated for the new Windows 10 November Update build 10586(Threshold 2).

Since when Windows 10 development started and free Insider Preview build released to public, there have been lots of talks about Windows 10 privacy policy, data collection and telemetry. Even after the final release of Windows 10 operating system, lots of people are still worried about their privacy in Windows 10. People think that Microsoft is collecting their personal data in Windows 10 OS which is absolutely wrong. Microsoft just collects some required basic data anonymously to improve Windows 10 functionality and suggestions which are given by the OS to the end user i.e. you.

If you are also worried about Windows 10 privacy issues and want to get maximum privacy in Windows 10, this topic will definitely help you. In this topic, we'll provide you a list of best privacy settings for Windows 10 which will allow you to disable automatic data collection and telemetry in Windows 10 and will help you in getting as much privacy as you can get in the OS. You'll be able to configure Windows 10 privacy settings quickly and easily with the help of this guide.

So without wasting time lets start our beginner's guide to Windows 10 privacy settings:

Actually Windows 10 allows you to configure lots of settings to improve your privacy at the time of Windows 10 installation as well as after installation. That's why we are dividing this tutorial in two parts:

• PART 1: Configure Windows 10 Privacy Settings at Installation Time
• PART 2: Configure Windows 10 Privacy Settings after Installation

Here are the details of both parts:

PART 1: Configure Windows 10 Privacy Settings at Installation Time

If you are going to install Windows 10, then PART 1 will be very helpful to you. But if you have already installed Windows 10, you can skip to PART 2 to configure privacy settings.

When you run Windows 10 setup, after a few minutes of installation the OOBE (Out-of-Box Experience) wizard starts to allow you customizing various settings related to Windows 10.

It contains 2 buttons: Use Express settings and Back. Most of the people click on "Use Express settings" button but they miss a tiny link "Customize settings" given at the bottom-left corner of screen. I wonder why Microsoft put that essential link there? They should have put the link near Express settings button to help users.

Anyway instead of clicking on Express settings button, click on Customize settings link so that you can configure various privacy settings at installation time.

After clicking on Customize settings link, you'll be provided with a screen where you can turn various privacy options on or off according to your requirements.

The first screen contains privacy options related to Personalization and Location. To maximize your privacy set all available options to Off:

• Personalize your speech, typing, and inking input by sending contacts and calendar details, along with other associated input data to Microsoft - OFF
• Send typing and inking data to Microsoft to improve the recognition and suggestion platform - OFF
• Let apps use your advertising ID for experiences across apps - OFF
• Let Skype (if installed) help you connect with friends in your address book and verify your mobile number. SMS and data charges may apply - OFF
• Turn on Find My Device and let Windows and apps request your location, including location history, and send Microsoft and trusted partners some location data to improve location services - OFF

Click on Next button and you'll be provided with another screen where you can customize privacy settings related to Connectivity and error reporting. For maximum privacy, you should set all options to Off:

• Automatically connect to suggested open hotspots. Not all networks are secure - OFF
• Automatically connect to networks shared by your contacts - OFF
• Automatically connect to hotspots temporarily to see if paid Wi-Fi services are available -OFF
• Send full error and diagnostic information to Microsoft - OFF

Again click on Next button and you'll be provided with another screen where you can customize privacy settings related to Web browser, protection and Windows update. For maximum privacy, you should set the first option to On and set remaining options to Off:

• Use SmartScreen online services to help protect against malicious content and downloads in sites loaded by Windows browsers and Store apps - ON
• Use page prediction to improve reading, speed up browsing, and make your overall experience better in Windows browsers. Your browsing data will be sent to Microsoft - OFF
• Get updates from and send updates to other PCs on the Internet to speed up app and Windows update downloads - OFF

Above are the all privacy settings which can be customized at Windows 10 installation time.

PART 2: Configure Windows 10 Privacy Settings after Installation

If you have installed Windows 10 but didn't customize above mentioned privacy settings at installation time and clicked on Express settings button, there is no need to worry.

You can still configure those privacy settings along with many other settings using Settings app:

STEP 1:

Open Start Menu and click on Settings option. It'll open Settings app. Alternatively, you can direct open Settings app using WIN+I hotkey.

STEP 2:

Now click on "Privacy" section. Here you can tweak and customize several settings to improve your privacy in Windows 10.

For your convenience, we are providing an easy list which will tell you which option should be set to On and which should be set to Off:

General:

Leave the second option enabled and disable other remaining options:

• Let apps use my advertising ID for experiences across apps (turning this off will reset your ID) - OFF
• Turn on SmartScreen Filter to check web content (URLs) that Windows Store apps use -ON
• Send Microsoft info about how I write to help us improving typing and writing in the future - OFF
• Let websites provide locally relevant content by accessing my language list - OFF

Location:

If you don't use any app which requires your location, set the option "Location for this device" to OFF. Just click on Change button and turn the option off.

Also clear the location history by clicking on Clear button.

Camera, Microphone, Account info, Contacts, Calendar, Call history, Email, Messaging, Radios, Other devices:

Set sliders in all these sections to OFF for maximum privacy settings.

If you are using any app which requires these options (such as Mail app may require contacts, calendar details), leave that option enabled. Otherwise disable these options.

Speech, inking, & typing:

If you don't use Cortana (digital personal assistant), click on "Stop getting to know me" button to turn off the option.

Feedback & diagnostics:

If you want to help Microsoft in improving Windows 10 by providing your valuable feedback, you can set the option "Feedback Frequency" to Automatically, Always, Once a day orOnce a week. If you don't want to provide feedback to Microsoft, you can set the option toNever.

Set "Diagnostic and usage data" option to Basic.

PS: Windows 10 Enterprise, Education, IoT and Server edition users can completely turn off the sending of diagnostic and usage data using Group Policy Editor. Type gpedit.msc in RUN or Start search box and press Enter. It'll open Group Policy Editor. Then go to:

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Data Collection and Preview Builds

In right-side pane, double-click on "Allow Telemetry", select Enabled option and then set the value to "0 - Off/Security" from the drop-down list. Apply changes. On other Windows 10 editions such as Windows 10 Home (Core) or Pro edition, this method has no effects.

Background apps:

In this section, you can customize which apps can run in background to receive updates, info and send notifications.

Set all apps to Off to conserve power and improve privacy.

STEP 3:

Now go back to Settings main page and click on "Network & Internet" section. Now select your Internet connection in Wi-Fi tab and click on Manage Wi-Fi settings link.

Now set the three options present in "Wi-Fi Sense" section to Off:

• Connect to suggested open hotspots - OFF
• Connect to networks shared by your contacts - OFF
• Get online when you're on the go by buying Wi-Fi. When turned on, Windows will temporarily connect to open hotspots that aren't secure to see if paid Wi-Fi is available -OFF

STEP 4:

Again go back to Settings main page and click on "Update & security" section. Now inWindows Update tab, click on "Advanced options" link.

Again click on "Choose how updates are delivered" link and set the slider to Off given under "Updates from more than one place".

STEP 5:

STEP 6:

Again go back to Settings main page and click on "System" section. Now in Notifications & actions tab, set "Show me tips about Windows" option to Off.

STEP 7:

Again go back to Settings main page and click on "Personalization" section. Now in Lock screen tab, set "Get fun facts, tips, and more on your lock screen" option to Off.

Again in Start tab, set "Occasionally show suggestions in Start" option to Off.

STEP 8:

You can also set "Windows Error Reporting Service" to MANUAL using Services Managerto prevent Windows 10 from sending error and diagnostic information to Microsoft.

Also set "Connected User Experiences and Telemetry", "Diagnostic Tracking Service" and "dmwappushsvc" services to MANUAL or DISABLED in Services Manager to turn off telemetry and data collection in Windows 10.

STEP 9:

Also check out following tutorial to disable secret "Customer Experience Improvement Program" (CEIP) which automatically collects and sends usage data to Microsoft:

STEP 10:

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That's it guys. After customizing all these settings, you should not be worried about privacy issues in Windows 10. You are good to go.

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