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Disabling Windows 11 Recall, AI "Click to Do", and Telemetry via Group Policy - 2026 Manual Guide (the.unknown-universe.co.uk)

submitted 1 day ago by TheIPW@lemmy.ml to c/technology@lemmy.ml

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As a Linux user forced into a temporary truce with Windows for gaming handheld compatibility, I refuse to run the OS in its "out of the box" state. I’ve put together a manual optimisation guide that skips the "one-click" de-bloat scripts and focuses on permanent Group Policy (gpedit) and system-level tweaks to make the OS semi-tolerable.

The Guide Covers:

Killing AI Spyware: Disabling the "Recall" background service, snapshot recording, and "Click to Do" screen scraping.

Telemetry Lockdown: Redirecting "Allow Diagnostic Data" to the Security level (0).

Start Menu Surgery: Decoupling search from Bing to keep local file searches actually local.

Performance recovery: Disabling Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) and background hypervisors for bare-metal gaming speed.

Edge/Widget Removal: Stopping background "loitering" and accidental UI stutters.

This is a reproducible, manual workflow for those who want a clean(er) environment without relying on third-party scripts.

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[–] onlooker@lemmy.ml 13 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Man, that's a whole lot of homework just to access a Microsoft account. In addition, Windows has a nasty habit of rolling back changes every time there's a major update (like upgrading from build 24H2 to 25H2), so the tweaks listed might not even stick.

[–] TheIPW@lemmy.ml 7 points 1 day ago (2 children)

It is a fair bit of homework but for those of us who use Linux on a daily basis, we'd rather do the legwork once to have a private, predictable system than deal with the out-of-the-box bloat.

Regarding updates: that’s exactly why I focused on Group Policy tweaks rather than simple registry hacks or UI toggles. Policies are designed for enterprise environments where IT managers would be furious if an update reset their security configurations, so they tend to survive major build updates much better than standard settings, it's not foolproof but it is the best way to stay ahead!

[–] onlooker@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 day ago

Well, you seem to have given this issue considerable thought. Here's hoping it works out for you.

[–] warmaster@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

Well thought out. But if you're open to advice, don't spend any more money on Microsoft's ecosystem.