Activity history helps keep track of the things you do on your device, such as the apps and services you use, the files you open, and the websites you browse. You will be able to see a timeline of your activities and pick up where you left off, such as in a Microsoft Word document, Cortana, or Microsoft Edge, and over time in other parts of Windows. Microsoft can also provide you with more personalized experiences (such as ordering your activities based on duration of use) and relevant suggestions (such as anticipating what your needs might be based on your activity history).
If you've signed in to your device with a Microsoft account and enabled the setting to send Microsoft your activity history, Microsoft uses your activity history data to enable cross-device experiences. So even when you switch devices, you will be able to see notifications about your activities and resume them. For example, your activity history can also be sent to Microsoft when using another Windows 10 device or certain Microsoft apps on an iOS or Android device. You can continue activities that you started from those other devices on your Windows device.
Microsoft will also use your activity history to improve Microsoft products and services when the setting for sending your activity history to Microsoft is enabled. We do this by applying machine-learning techniques to better understand how customers in general use our products and services. We also diagnose where customers encounter errors and then help fix them.
Even if you choose not to share your activity history with Microsoft, your activity history will still be stored locally on your device to help keep track of the things you do. You will be able to see the timeline of activities from your device and pick up where you left off, such as in Cortana or Microsoft Edge.
Note that Windows has other privacy settings that control whether app activity and browsing history data is sent to Microsoft, such as the Diagnostic data setting.
You can turn off the settings for sending your activity history to Microsoft and storing activity history locally on the device, and you can also clear your device's activity history at any time by going to Start > Settings > Privacy > Activity history.
You can always manage activity history data that is stored in the cloud for your Microsoft account by signing in to the privacy dashboard at account.microsoft.com/privacy/.
To learn more about how Microsoft products and services use this data to personalize experiences while respecting your privacy, review the full Microsoft Privacy Statement at aka.ms/privacy.