How to Disable Activity History on Windows 11 & 10 (Regedit)

To disable Activity History on Windows 10 and 11, open Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System, and create three DWORD (32-bit) values: EnableActivityFeed, PublishUserActivities, and UploadUserActivities — all set to 0. Once done, close Registry Editor and restart your PC for the changes to take effect.

Quick Steps:

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System
3. Right-click empty space > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, name it EnableActivityFeed, double-click it, set the value to 0, click OK
4. Create another DWORD named PublishUserActivities, set it to 0, click OK
5. Create one more DWORD named UploadUserActivities, set it to 0, click OK
6. Close Registry Editor and restart your PC

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What Is Activity History and Why Should You Disable It?

Activity History is a Windows feature that quietly tracks what you do on your PC — apps you open, files you work on, and websites you browse — and stores that information locally. Depending on your settings, it can also sync that data to Microsoft’s servers through your Microsoft account. It was introduced to power features like the Windows Timeline and the “Pick up where you left off” functionality in the Start menu.

Most people have no idea this is even running. Back when I was doing computer repairs and setups every day, activity tracking was one of those things that was always enabled by default and almost never discussed. If you value your privacy and don’t want Windows logging your daily activity, turning it off makes sense. It’s in the same category as disabling Windows telemetry, which stops Windows from sending usage and diagnostic data back to Microsoft’s servers.

Using the Registry Editor to make this change applies the settings as system policies, which means Windows respects them even after updates — unlike some settings in the Settings app that can get reset.

Detailed Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Open Registry Editor

Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog. Type regedit and press Enter. If a User Account Control prompt appears asking for permission to make changes, click Yes to continue.

Step 2: Navigate to the Registry Path

You need to get to this path in the registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System. You can expand the folders on the left side one by one, or click the address bar at the top, paste the path in, and press Enter to jump there directly. I’ve also left this path in the video description so you can copy and paste it easily.

Step 3: Create the EnableActivityFeed Value

Once you’re at that registry path, right-click on any empty white space in the right panel and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name this value EnableActivityFeed and press Enter. Double-click the new entry, change the value data to 0, and click OK.

Step 4: Create the PublishUserActivities Value

Right-click on the empty space again and create another DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name this one PublishUserActivities and press Enter. Double-click it, set the value data to 0, and click OK.

Step 5: Create the UploadUserActivities Value

Right-click one more time and create a third DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it UploadUserActivities and press Enter. Double-click it, set the value data to 0, and click OK. You can now close Registry Editor.

Step 6: Restart Your PC

Restart your computer for all three registry changes to take effect. After the restart, Windows will no longer record your activity history or upload it to Microsoft’s servers.

Common Issues & Solutions

Problem: The “System” key doesn’t exist under the Windows folder
Solution: Right-click on the Windows folder in the left panel, select New > Key, and name it System. Then navigate into that new key and proceed to create the DWORD values inside it.

Problem: Registry Editor says “Access Denied” when trying to make changes
Solution: Close Registry Editor, search for it in the Start menu, right-click the result, and choose Run as administrator. You need admin rights to write to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive.

Problem: The values disappeared after a Windows update
Solution: Because these values are stored under the Policies key, they should normally survive updates. If they do get cleared, just go back to the same registry path and re-create the three DWORD values with a value of 0.

FAQ

Does disabling Activity History affect PC performance?

No, there’s no negative impact on performance. Disabling it actually stops a small amount of background processing since Windows is no longer logging and syncing your activity data to Microsoft’s servers.

Will any Windows features stop working after I do this?

The Windows Timeline and the “Pick up where you left off” feature in the Start menu will stop working because they depend on Activity History data. All other Windows features continue to work normally.

Can I re-enable Activity History if I change my mind?

Yes, absolutely. Just go back to the same registry path and either delete the three DWORD values you created, or change their value data from 0 to 1. Restart your PC and Activity History will be active again.

Does this method work on Windows 10 Home?

Yes, the Registry Editor method works on all editions of Windows 10 and 11, including Home. The Group Policy Editor is not available on Home editions, but the registry changes achieve exactly the same result and work on every edition.

Is there an easier way to do this without editing the registry manually?

If you’d rather not touch the registry yourself, you can use Winhance, a free open-source Windows enhancement utility I built that lets you manage privacy settings like this through a clean interface. It covers Activity History along with other data collection settings like the Windows Advertising ID, so you can handle everything in one place without digging through the registry.