Disable AI Telemetry Windows 11 (2026 Guide): Stop Microsoft AI Tracking Without Breaking Your PC

You can’t disable AI telemetry Windows 11 on Home or Pro editions completely, but you can reduce it to almost zero. Full control is only available on Enterprise, Education, and Server versions. But The good news is that you can limit AI telemetry regardless of the version you use. What you can do on any edition is reduce outbound data to near-zero, cut the AI background services burning your NPU, and verify the results yourself with free tools.

Before you spend a precious hour working on this tutorial, make sure you’re actually dealing with Recall. Only machines with the Copilot+ feature and an NPU having at least 40+ TOPS, 16GB RAM, a minimum of 256GB SSD and 8 logical processors can run Recall. Any device released before June 18, 2024 doesn’t have this software installed. Simply type “Recall” in your Start Menu. If it’s not there – don’t worry about Recall sections below

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What Is AI Telemetry in Windows 11 25H2?

Standard Windows telemetry has existed since Windows 10. What changed in 25H2 (build 26200.6584, released October 1, 2025) is the shape of what gets collected and processed.

25H2 wasn’t a clean install for most users. Microsoft used an enablement package on top of 24H2, activating binaries that already existed on your drive. The Copilot+ features — Recall, Click to Do, Semantic Search — first appeared during 24H2 servicing updates through 2025 before being formally switched on in 25H2. If you’re on a managed 24H2 device, your exposure timeline started earlier than the October release date.

Here’s what’s running now on a Copilot+ PC with 25H2:

Recall captures periodic screen snapshots and stores them in a local SQLite database at %LocalAppData%\CoreAIPlatform.00\UKP\. It does not send screenshots to Microsoft — processing is on-device. The privacy risk is local: a compromised machine exposes your entire screen history.

The AI Fabric Service (WSAIFabricSvc) runs all the time. It controls the WorkloadsSessionHost.exe processes, which use the ONNX model inference. For AMD Ryzen AI, there is an issue where these processes consume 60-95% of the NPU during idle, according to GitHub: zoicware/RemoveWindowsAI and ElevenForum.

Semantic Search uses the AI Phi Silica and AI Semantic Analysis services (see Settings > System > AI components). It indexes your files based on on-device NLP models. Unlike Recall, Microsoft has explicitly stated that there is currently no way to completely turn off Semantic Indexing. You can only opt out folders from Settings > Privacy & Security > Searching Windows.

DiagTrack (Connected User Experiences and Telemetry) is the classic outbound data pipe. This does send data to Microsoft servers. This is what you’re primarily killing.

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Can You Completely Disable AI Telemetry Windows 11?

No. Not on Window’s Home or Pro version. Setting AllowTelemetry = 0 in the registry does not produce zero telemetry. Per Microsoft’s own documentation (sourced via makeuseof.com and simplified.guide), on Home and Pro editions that value is silently treated as 1.

You will have access to this type of diagnostic information about your PC’s hardware configuration, crashes, updates, etc. The ability to turn off/on more diagnostic data through Settings will be disabled and unavailable but doing so will help increase the durability of the computer as Windows Update constantly resets your settings level configuration.

Edition	AllowTelemetry = 0 effective?	Group Policy available?
Home	Treated as 1 (minimum level)	No
Pro	Treated as 1 (minimum level)	Yes
Enterprise/Education	True 0 (Security level)	Yes

True elimination is only possible when you control the gatekeeper (the router) rather than the messenger (the OS). By the time Windows realizes its telemetry packets are being dropped by a Pi-hole, it’s already too late—the data is blocked at the hardware level, where software settings no longer matter

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Step-by-Step: Disable Copilot Recall Telemetry Windows 11

Check the hardware gate first. Type “Recall” in the Start Menu. No result = no Recall. You’re done with this section.

If you have Recall:

Via Settings: Settings > Privacy & Security > Recall & snapshots > toggle Off.

Full removal (run as Administrator):

DISM /Online /Disable-Feature /FeatureName:"Recall"

Group Policy (Pro and Enterprise only): gpedit.msc > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows AI > Disable Recall > Enabled.

Registry (Home users): The WindowsAI key does not exist by default. You must create it:

1. Open regedit, navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\
2. Right-click Windows > New > Key > name it WindowsAI
3. Inside WindowsAI, create DWORD: AllowRecallEnablement = 0

Delete the snapshot database: Navigate to %LocalAppData%\CoreAIPlatform.00\UKP\ and delete the folder contents.

Critical distinction: Disabling Recall does not stop Semantic Search. These are separate features. The unified off switch for both is WSAIFabricSvc covered in the NPU section below.

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Disable AI Telemetry Windows 11 25H2 — Settings + Registry + Group Policy

Before touching the registry: Create a restore point (search “Create a restore point” in Start) and back up your registry via regedit > File > Export > All.

Turn Off Optional Diagnostic Data Permanently

Settings path: Settings > Privacy & Security > Diagnostics & feedback > Diagnostic data > Send optional diagnostic data > Off. Also disable Tailored experiences and delete stored diagnostic data.

Registry (all editions): Navigate to:

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\DataCollection

Create DWORD: AllowTelemetry = 1 (use 0 only on Enterprise/Education — on Home/Pro it behaves identically to 1). This grays out the Settings toggle and survives updates.

Disable DiagTrack (all editions including Home): Open an elevated Command Prompt. The space after the equals sign in sc commands is not optional — the command will error without it:

sc config DiagTrack start= disabled
sc stop DiagTrack

Or via services.msc: find “Connected User Experiences and Telemetry,” set Startup type to Disabled, click Stop.

Group Policy (Pro+): gpedit.msc > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Data Collection and Preview Builds > Allow Diagnostic Data > set to “Diagnostic data off.”

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Block All Windows 11 Telemetry — Firewall + Hosts File

Stop. Disable DNS over HTTPS first. Windows 11’s built-in DoH encrypts DNS queries before they reach your hosts file. If DoH is active, every hosts file entry you write is silently bypassed. Your blocks do nothing.

Disable DoH: Settings > Network & Internet > your adapter > DNS server assignment > Edit > Encrypted DNS > Off.

Or via Group Policy: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network > DNS Client > Configure DNS over HTTPS (DoH) name resolution > Disabled.

Only after DoH is off should you edit C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts (requires admin). Add these verified entries (hagezi/dns-blocklists, updated November 2025):

127.0.0.1 vortex.data.microsoft.com
127.0.0.1 vortex-win.data.microsoft.com
127.0.0.1 settings-win.data.microsoft.com
127.0.0.1 de-v20.events.data.microsoft.com
127.0.0.1 watson.telemetry.microsoft.com
127.0.0.1 telecommand.telemetry.microsoft.com
127.0.0.1 modern.watson.data.microsoft.com

Full maintained list: github.com/hagezi/dns-blocklists

Firewall outbound rule (domain-resolved, more durable than IP):

New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block Telemetry Vortex" `
  -Direction Outbound -Action Block `
  -RemoteAddress (Resolve-DnsName vortex.data.microsoft.com).IPAddress

IP-based firewall rules are fragile. Microsoft updates can wipe them. Re-verify after every Patch Tuesday if you use IP blocking. Hosts file entries persist through updates, but only when DoH stays off.

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Windows 11 Home Edition — Disable All AI Telemetry Completely

This is the most restrictive edition to harden, which makes the firewall and hosts file approach non-optional rather than supplementary. You need all three layers working together: DiagTrack disabled, telemetry domains blocked, outbound firewall rules active.

For Recall and Copilot registry keys — both WindowsAI and WindowsCopilot under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\ must be created manually. Neither exists in a fresh Home installation. Right-click the parent key in regedit, create the key, then add the DWORD values inside.

The result of the full stack on Home: near-zero. Not zero. Verified using the Wireshark method below.

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Turn Off Microsoft AI Data Collection Without Breaking Updates

Block confidently:

• All seven telemetry domains listed above
• DiagTrack service
• WSAIFabricSvc (AI Fabric)

Do not block these — updates and Defender will break:

update.microsoft.com
windowsupdate.microsoft.com
download.windowsupdate.com
*.delivery.mp.microsoft.com
go.microsoft.com
definitionupdates.microsoft.com

The conservative approach: block only at the DiagTrack and hosts file level, leave firewall rules off initially, verify with Wireshark, then add firewall rules if telemetry outbound traffic still appears.

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Verify No Telemetry Windows 11 — Wireshark + Netstat

This is the only section that actually proves anything.

Pre-requisite: Disable DoH first (steps above). Wireshark captures DNS queries in plaintext — if DoH is active, all DNS traffic is encrypted inside HTTPS and the filter below captures nothing useful.

Wireshark method:

1. Download Wireshark from wireshark.org
2. Start a capture on your active adapter
3. Apply display filter: dns.qry.name contains "microsoft"
4. Let it run for 10–15 minutes at idle
5. After blocking: zero results for vortex.data.microsoft.com, settings-win.data.microsoft.com, and the other seven blocked domains

Before blocking, you’ll typically see repeated DNS lookups to vortex.data.microsoft.com every few minutes. That’s DiagTrack queuing outbound data. After the service is disabled and hosts file is in place, those queries disappear.

netstat method (quicker, less detail): Open an elevated Command Prompt and run:

netstat -b 5

This refreshes connections every 5 seconds and shows the executable responsible. Look for svchost.exe or DiagTrack making outbound connections to 13.107.4.50 or 13.107.5.88 (known Microsoft telemetry IP ranges). After blocking, those rows should not appear.

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Best Debloat Tools — Disable AI Telemetry Windows 11 25H2

Independent testing in 2026 (sourced via How-To Geek / Yahoo Tech) measured fresh-boot RAM before and after each tool. Results: no meaningful RAM reduction from any of them. Windows 11 still boots at ~1.9–2.1GB regardless. What these tools do reduce is your privacy exposure surface, and that’s a legitimate goal on its own.

Chris Titus Tech WinUtil

• Pros: GUI-based, integrates O&O ShutUp10++, reversible, creates restore point before running
• Cons: No RAM/performance gain; some settings reset after major Windows updates
• Risk: Low (use “Minimal” preset)
• Re-apply after Patch Tuesday if Microsoft resets privacy settings

Win11Debloat (Raphire — open source PowerShell)

• Pros: No installation, transparent code, lightweight, customizable
• Cons: CLI only; intimidating for non-developers; some tweaks revert post-update
• Risk: Low-medium depending on preset selected

O&O ShutUp10++

• Pros: Granular per-toggle GUI, free, no install required
• Cons: Proprietary (not open source — you can’t audit what it does)
• Risk: Low

Recommendation: run manual registry and service changes first. Use these tools as a second pass for toggles you missed — not as a substitute for understanding what you’re actually blocking.

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AI Background Services — NPU CPU & Battery Impact

WSAIFabricSvc is the service name. In Task Manager it surfaces as multiple WorkloadsSessionHost.exe processes, and on AMD Ryzen AI CPUs there is a documented bug (tracked on GitHub and ElevenForum) causing 60–95% NPU utilization at idle. This is a real, measurable problem not theoretical.

To fix NPU telemetry battery drain:

1. Open services.msc
2. Find “Windows AI Fabric Service”
3. Click Stop, then set Startup type to Disabled
4. Reboot

When this service stops, %LocalAppData%\CoreAIPlatform.00\UKP\ data is removed. Semantic Search workloads also stop not just Recall. Both features share this service as infrastructure. This is the single highest-impact action for Copilot+ PC users who want to stop Microsoft AI tracking at the hardware level.

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Remove Copilot from Windows 11

Taskbar only (all editions): Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Copilot > Off. Hides the button. Win+C still opens Copilot.

Group Policy (Pro+): gpedit.msc > User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Copilot > Turn off Windows Copilot > Enabled. Note: Microsoft has marked this policy as “legacy.” For long-term deployments, transition to AppLocker rules or the new GPO below.

April 2026 update — new durable option: The April 2026 cumulative update added a dedicated “Remove Microsoft Copilot App” Group Policy. This is now the recommended approach for admins — find it under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components.

Registry (Home users):

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsCopilot

Create a key if it is missing. Inside, create DWORD: DisableWindowsCopilot = 1.

PowerShell uninstall:

# Current user only:
Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.Copilot | Remove-AppxPackage

# All users (requires admin):
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers -Name Microsoft.Copilot | Remove-AppxPackage

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FAQ