How to Disable Microsoft Office Usage Telemetry

Microsoft Office can send diagnostic, usage, and connected-experience data to Microsoft to help improve features, reliability, and cloud services. If you want to reduce that data sharing, you usually need to change privacy settings inside Office and, in some cases, review Windows privacy options too. The exact options available can vary depending on whether you use Microsoft 365, Office 2021, or an older version of Office.

What Causes This?

Office apps like Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint collect diagnostic and usage data by default, especially when connected experiences and optional diagnostics are enabled. Microsoft uses this data for product improvement, troubleshooting, personalization, and cloud-based features. In many cases, users never change the default privacy settings, so telemetry stays on longer than they expect.

Common Symptoms

• Office apps show privacy notices or prompts about sending diagnostic data
• You want to reduce data sharing from Word, Excel, Outlook, or PowerPoint
• Office privacy settings are enabled by default after installation
• You notice connected experiences or optional diagnostics are turned on
• You want a quick way to review Office and Windows privacy settings together

How to Fix It Manually

1. Open an Office app

   • Launch Word, Excel, or another Office app from the Start menu.
   • You only need one Office app open to access the shared privacy settings.

2. Open the Office privacy settings

   • In the top-left corner, click File.
   • Select Account from the left sidebar.
   • Click Manage Settings under Account Privacy.
   • If you see Privacy Settings instead, click that.

3. Turn off optional diagnostic data

   • Look for a setting such as Optional connected experiences, Optional diagnostic data, or similar wording.
   • Disable any option that allows Office to send extra usage or diagnostic data beyond what is required for basic service operation.
   • Keep in mind that some required diagnostic data may not be fully removable in newer Microsoft 365 builds.

4. Review connected experiences

   • In the same privacy window, check settings for Connected experiences.
   • Turn off features you do not want, especially those related to:
     • downloading online content
     • analyzing your content
     • cloud-powered suggestions or personalization
   • Read each description carefully, since disabling these may affect translation, design suggestions, editor features, and other online tools.

5. Repeat the check in other Office apps if needed

   • Most privacy settings apply across Office, but some versions may show slightly different menus.
   • Open Outlook or another Office app and confirm the same settings are disabled.

6. Review Windows diagnostic settings

   • Press Windows + I to open Settings.
   • Go to Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback.
   • Set diagnostic data to the lowest available level on your system.
   • Turn off options like Tailored experiences and Improve inking & typing if you want to reduce additional data sharing at the Windows level.

7. Restart Office apps

   • Close all Office programs.
   • Reopen Word, Excel, or Outlook so the new privacy settings fully apply.

8. For work or school devices, check policy restrictions

   • If the settings are grayed out, your organization may control them through Group Policy or Microsoft 365 admin settings.
   • In that case, contact your IT administrator, since local changes may not be allowed.

Fix It Automatically with Kudu

Kudu can help you review privacy-related settings that affect Windows and Microsoft apps, so you do not have to dig through multiple menus yourself. It makes it easier to spot telemetry, diagnostics, and connected features that may be enabled, then apply safer privacy-focused settings in one place.

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