Windows 10 and 11 bring a lot of new features and aims to make your daily work as easy and hassle-free as possible. Microsoft does grant you some further rights in order that you can set your privacy the way you would like it. However, these new settings often only apply to programs that were installed after the Update, and some old settings are simply reset to “Standard“ automatically. Windows 10 and 11 quite freely shares your personal data with Microsoft and certain apps. Some services protocol your entire keyboard entries, share your WLAN access data with your Facebook contacts or connect your computer without asking permission to a public – and potentially unprotected – network. While this means that you and your contacts do not have to grapple with complicated WLAN passwords, it also poses a significant security risk.
Windows lets you manage some of the available privacy settings in a new easier to use dashboard. Unfortunately, it does not give you full control over your privacy on your very own PC. Without a deep understanding of Windows, it is very difficult to protect your privacy.
Protect your privacy under Windows 10 and Windows 11 – Free!
O&O Software’s freeware O&O ShutUp10 means you have full control over which comfort functions under Windows 10 and Windows 11 you wish to use, and you decide when the passing on of your data goes too far. Using a very simple interface, you decide how Windows 10 and 11 should respect your privacy by making recommendations and giving tips for which unwanted functions should be deactivated. And should you change your mind later on, e.g. giving the personal assistant Cortana a try, all changes can be reverted with a single click.
Alternatively, ensure permanent, automatic privacy with the Premium Edition
The new O&O ShutUp10 Premium Edition ensures that your chosen privacy settings remain permanently enforced – fully automatically, even after Windows updates or system changes. Once configured, O&O ShutUp10 Premium continuously monitors your system and automatically restores your preferred settings whenever changes are detected. This gives you permanent control over what Windows is allowed to collect and share about you.
Particularly after Windows updates or major system modifications, it is common for previously configured privacy options to be reactivated or altered. O&O ShutUp10 Premium detects such changes and ensures that the desired configurations remain permanently intact.
New in Version 3.1.1104
Added:
- “Show Differences” button in the overview panel
- “Don’t show again” option for the restore point prompt
- Ctrl+F keyboard shortcut for search/filter functionality
- Detection and linking of system-wide and user-specific setting associations
- Automatic search while typing
- PREM: Option to preserve notification counters and timestamps across application restarts
- PREM: Reset blocked settings button in the Settings dialog
- PREM: Informational message when no settings are blocked
- PREM: Update check can also be triggered from the menu
- PREM: Notification deduplication and activity log summary feature
Improved:
- “Disable Windows Location Service”: Version-specific split (up to Windows 11 23H2) and new variant for Windows 11 24H2+
- (Disable Location): Added Night Light warning to the description in all languages
- Search now detects setting IDs even when ID display is disabled and offers to enable it
- Detection and removal of Copilot/AI desktop apps in RecallTerminator
- Optimized High DPI support
- PREM: Reset button is now only enabled when blocked items exist – setting IDs are shown in the confirmation dialog
- PREM: Updated tray icons with higher-resolution versions
- PREM: Activity Log timestamps now use localized date and time formats
- PREM: Tray icon status now uses OK/Warning indicators and localized tooltips
- PREM: Recall folder detection switched to service-based detection
- PREM: Copilot uninstallation now provides UI feedback and improved verification
Fixed:
- Description text was not displayed correctly for the last item and disappeared when clicking the scrollbar
- Crash when clicking a search result heading or the […] button
- PREM: Installation path is now correctly preserved during upgrades
- PREM: Tray icon was not reliably removed when exiting the application
- PREM: Main window was not displayed correctly in single-instance mode
- PREM: Incorrect display of the & symbol in tray icon tooltips on Windows 10
- PREM: Fixed notification flooding after sleep/standby
- PREM: Dashboard was not refreshed after applying recommended settings during onboarding
- PREM: Progress bar was not reset after deleting Recall folders
- PREM: Fixed service startup failures
- PREM: Fixed incorrect drift detection when Automatic Protection was disabled
- PREM: Notifications now correctly count all deviating settings when protection is enabled
Compatible with Windows 11 and Windows 10; x86, x64, and ARM architecture.
Available in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian and Chinese (simplified).
Download now – no install, no crapware!
Download O&O ShutUp10 free from our Website. The free Edition of O&O ShutUp10 does not have to be installed – it can be simply run directly and immediately on your PC (portable). And it will not install or download retrospectively unwanted or unnecessary software – no crapware.
