Windows 10 collects a lot of data about your activity. Most of the collected data is saved to the cloud, and you will not be able to erase your activity history saved to the cloud merely by reinstalling Windows 10 installation. When you reinstall Windows 10, only data saved on your device is erased.
The activity history is used for the Cortana’s pick up where you left off feature. The feature allows you to resume apps, docs and other activities that you were doing before restarting your PC.
As said, Windows 10 collects plenty of data. If Cortana is turned on and Edge browsing history is turned on, Edge browsing history is automatically saved on your PC as well as to the cloud. Likewise, when you use Bing, the search history is saved so that Bing can give better suggestions and results when you search the next time. Windows 10 collects the location data and saves it to the cloud.
If you use voice commands in Windows 10, Microsoft collects and saves your audio recordings to the cloud. Microsoft health, HealthVault, and Microsoft Band device also collect your activity history.
The digital assistant Cortana also automatically collects and sends data to the cloud. Of course, Microsoft uses all these data only to enhance your overall PC experience, but some users want to view the collected data and erase the same.
Luckily, Microsoft offers an easy way to view all collected activity history and erase them, if wish to do so. You can view all collected data from your Windows 10 PC as well as other Microsoft services and erase them with ease by following the below directions. There is even an option to stop Windows 10 from collecting your activity.
Stop Windows 10 from activity history
Step 1: Navigate to Settings app > Privacy > Activity history.
Step 2: In the Collect activities section, turn off Let Windows collect all my activities switch to stop Windows 10 from collecting your activity history.
View and clear activity history in Windows 10
NOTE: This feature is present in Windows 10 build 17040 and above.
Step 1: Navigate to Settings app > Privacy > Activity history.
Step 2: In the Clear activity history section, click the Clear button to clear all activity history. But if you want to view or view and clear only specific activity history, click Manage my activity info link to open Privacy Dashboard page in your web browser. If asked to enter your Microsoft account password, please do so.
Step 3: Scroll down the page to see options to view and clear activity history for voice, search, browse and locations. For instance, clicking View and clear browsing history button in the Browsing history section will display your browsing history with an option to clear that data.
Step 4: To clear activity history for a specific type of data, click the View and clear data button in that section. It will take you to Activity history page where you can see all collected data for the selected type of data. Click the Clear activity link that appears on the right-side of the page just above your activity entries and then click Clear button again when you see the warning dialog to clear all the data.
For instance, to clear all locations activity history, click View and clear location activity button (it will open a new page), click Clear activity link that appears on the upper right-side and then click Clear button upon seeing the warning dialog. Follow these steps for all type of data (voice, search, Cortana, browse, and locations) to view and clear activity history.
If you are concerned your privacy while using your Windows 10 PC, you can navigate to Settings > Privacy to stop Windows 10 and apps from collecting certain types of data.
Fr Dennis Kriz, OSM OSM says
You bastards, why is it hard to see one’s own history? I want to find a file that I was working on yesterday before my keyboard froze and ONE WOULD THINK THAT THE USER (I HERE) WOULD HAVE A WAY TO FIND WHERE IT WAS. Why does Microsoft (and whoever it works with) have the ability to see what I was working on AND NOT ME!!!!