Your computer is an extension of your life.
It holds work, banking, photos and the inbox that resets everything else. On Windows, a share of that use is reported back. You did not open a form. The operating system did.
Windows 11 is built to stay signed in to Microsoft. Diagnostic data is on. An advertising ID is there. Copilot sits in the taskbar. On Copilot+ PCs, Recall is designed to photograph the screen. Settings can shrink some of this. They cannot take Microsoft out of the system.
A privacy PC is the same work on an operating system that does not report home. Zorin OS, on our Privacy Laptops, keeps a Windows-like screen so the move to Linux is not a science project.
Quick answer:
Telemetry is Microsoft’s name for data about the machine and how it is used. The required level includes the device, its settings, and what is installed. The optional level adds how you use apps. Edge can add browsing. An advertising ID lets apps and Microsoft tie activity to that PC. This continues while you are not actively doing anything in a Microsoft app. Idle is not silent.
You can set diagnostic data to the required level. You cannot set it to none on a normal Windows 11 install. The off switch people look for is not there.
Copilot is wired into the system, not bolted on as a website. It is there to read the context of what you are doing. Recall, on a Copilot+ PC, takes periodic snapshots of the screen so you can search what you saw. Microsoft paused the first release after the backlash, then brought it back as opt-in. Opt-in does not change what the feature is. It is a record of your screen, on the computer that also holds your files.
A Microsoft account is pushed at setup. OneDrive is pushed as the place documents go. Suggested apps and ads appear in the system itself. The TPM chip is a security module Windows 11 requires. It is not a tracker. The account bound to the machine is the privacy problem, because that account is the key to the files, the sync, and the assistant.
macOS is quieter than stock Windows on ads. It is still an Apple account, iCloud, and diagnostics you have to go and turn down. Changing brand is not the same as ending the report.
Microsoft ended free support on 14 October 2025. A PC still on Windows 10 no longer gets the regular security patches. Unpatched Windows is what ransomware looks for. The risk grows every month the machine stays online.
Paying for extended updates keeps the patches and keeps the same reporting. It is a delay, not a privacy move.
Linux is not one company’s product. The code can be inspected for a hidden report home. A privacy build does not send your activity to Microsoft, does not ship ads, and does not require an account before you can use the machine.
Software does not run as the administrator unless you allow it. That is why malware has a harder time taking the whole PC. The same hardware often feels faster, because the telemetry services are gone. You choose what is installed, and you can remove it.
It is not magic. A browser can still be tracked. A cloud login can still be read by that company. The operating system is no longer the part doing the collecting.
The fear is the learning curve. Zorin OS is built to look and behave like Windows 10, Windows 11, or macOS. You can switch the layout. The menus are where a Windows user expects them.
A Privacy Laptop arrives on Zorin OS Pro, with the privacy defaults already set and the tools installed. Banking in the browser, documents, email and video calls work. It is not a command-line project. New hardware, configured before it ships.
Yes. Diagnostic telemetry is on by default, and a normal install will not let you turn the required level off. Optional diagnostic data, the advertising ID and Copilot add to it.
A Windows feature that stores snapshots of the screen so you can search what you saw. It is opt-in and limited to Copilot+ PCs. It is a record of your work, sitting on the same machine as your files.
Free security updates ended on 14 October 2025. An unsupported PC is increasingly exposed to malware and ransomware. Extended paid updates are a patch, not a privacy fix.
A traditional install can be. Zorin OS is laid out like Windows, and a configured Privacy Laptop arrives ready to use
The browser, documents, email and video calls do. A niche Windows-only program may need a check before you switch. Ask before you buy if one app is the reason you stayed.
It stops the operating system reporting home. An account you then sign into can still collect what you allow. That is a smaller problem than a system that reports before you open anything.
Windows 11 will not stop reporting because you turned a slider down. Windows 10 will not become safe because you stayed on it. A configured Linux PC is the step that takes Microsoft out of the machine.
For most people looking for a low-friction switch, a pre-configured Privacy Laptop running Zorin OS Pro provides a practical path: the privacy and security of Linux, with a familiar Windows or macOS interface to help with an easy switch.
-> See Privacy Laptops
-> Discover free Privacy Tools
