5 Windows Settings to Check After Every Update (Microsoft Turned More Back On)

After the OneDrive folder backup surprise, I went digging. And it turns out it’s not just one setting.

There are other Windows settings most people never touch, never check, and in some cases don’t even know exist. After updates, setup prompts, and “finish setting up your PC” screens, some of them end up on, changed, or wide open. Some affect your privacy. Some affect what runs in the background. Some affect your network.

So here are five more settings to check, exactly where they are, and what I’d change. Because apparently with Windows, turning something off once means absolutely nothing.

Prefer to watch instead of read? Here’s the full walkthrough — or skip it and keep reading below.

This is part two. If you haven’t checked OneDrive yet, start with Did OneDrive Folder Backup Turn Back On? And yes, before somebody says it: some of these features are useful for some people. That’s not the point. The point is that you should be the one who decides.

1. Delivery Optimization

Most people have never heard of this one. In plain English, Delivery Optimization lets your PC help deliver Windows and Microsoft Store updates to other PCs, sometimes on your local network and, depending on the settings, possibly beyond it.

1. Click Start → Settings → Windows Update.
2. Click Advanced options, then scroll down to Delivery Optimization.
3. Find Allow downloads from other PCs and turn it off.

Microsoft frames this as a way to speed up downloads, and in some managed environments it has a purpose. For the average person at home? You don’t need your PC shuffling update data around in the background on your internet connection. Turn it off.

2. Your Advertising ID

Yes, your Windows PC has an advertising ID. Because the operating system you paid for apparently wasn’t content just being an operating system.

1. Go to Settings → Privacy & security → General.
2. Turn off Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID.
3. While you’re there, look at the other options on that page (locally relevant content, tracking app launches, suggested content in Settings). I turn those off too.

Is this the end of the world if it’s on? No. But it’s one more piece of Windows drifting toward Microsoft’s preferences instead of yours, and that’s exactly how people end up feeling like they’ve lost control of their own machine.

3. Camera, Microphone, and Location Permissions

This is where you stop looking at Windows as one big system and start looking at what each app is allowed to do.

1. Go to Settings → Privacy & security and scroll down to App permissions.
2. Click Camera. If you never use a webcam, you can turn camera access off entirely. If you do, leave it on and go through the app list one by one.
3. Go back and do the same for Microphone.
4. Then Location. If you don’t need location features on this PC, turn location services off. Otherwise, review the apps underneath.

Be picky. Just because an app asked for access doesn’t mean it deserves it. You install something, click yes, forget about it, and six months later it still has access it never needed. That’s permission creep, and it builds up quietly.

4. Background App Permissions

Don’t confuse this with startup apps. Startup apps launch when Windows starts. This is about apps that keep doing things in the background while you’re not using them.

1. Go to Settings → Apps → Installed apps.
2. Click the ⋯ next to an app you rarely use, then Advanced options.
3. If you see Background apps permissions, set it to Never for apps that don’t need it.

Not every app shows this option; it’s mostly Microsoft Store apps. The goal isn’t to micromanage everything on earth. One app checks for updates, one sends notifications, one syncs, and before you know it your PC is doing a pile of background nonsense you never asked for. If an app doesn’t need to run in the background, don’t let it.

5. Windows Update Advanced Options

This is another place where Windows likes to make decisions for you.

1. Go to Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options.
2. Look at Receive updates for other Microsoft products. If you want fewer surprise updates, consider turning it off.
3. Look for a setting that lets Windows restart sooner to finish updates (on some versions it’s called Get me up to date). If you don’t want Windows being aggressive about restart timing, turn it off.
4. Check Active hours and the restart notification options, and know what they’re set to.

I’m not telling you to stop updating Windows. Don’t twist my words. Security updates matter. What I’m saying is that you should decide how aggressive updates are on your machine, not Microsoft. If your PC keeps rebooting at bad times or things change after every patch, this screen is part of that story.

Check Again After Big Updates

None of these is a one-and-done. Big Windows updates are exactly when settings tend to drift. Make a habit of running through this list (and the OneDrive check from part one) after every major update. It takes fifteen minutes, and it’s a lot less annoying than wondering three weeks later why your PC feels different.

The Short Version

1. Windows Update → Advanced options → Delivery Optimization: turn off downloads from other PCs.
2. Privacy & security → General: turn off the advertising ID and the suggestion settings.
3. Review camera, microphone, and location permissions app by app.
4. Set background permissions to Never for apps that don’t need them.
5. Decide how aggressive Windows Update gets on your PC, and re-check all of this after big updates.

Stay grumpy.