Accessing your Activity History in Windows 10 provides a view of recent actions like app usage and file opening through the Settings menu.
Understanding Windows 10 Activity History
Windows 10 includes a feature known as Activity History. This function tracks various actions you perform on your device, making it possible for features like Timeline (available in certain Windows updates) to help you resume tasks you were working on. The type of activities recorded can include:
- Using different applications and services
- Opening and working with files
- Browsing activity in Microsoft Edge
- Search queries made through Cortana
This history can be managed and potentially synced across devices if you are signed in with a Microsoft account and have the relevant settings enabled.
Steps to View and Manage Your Activity History
To find and manage this specific type of device activity data in Windows 10, follow these steps, based directly on the provided reference:
- Select the Start button.
- From the Start menu, select Settings (typically represented by a gear icon).
- In the Windows Settings window that opens, select the category labeled Privacy & security.
- In the left-hand menu under the "Privacy" section, scroll down and select Activity history.
What You Can Do on the Activity History Page
Once you navigate to the Activity history page in Settings, you won't typically see a direct list of every single past action. Instead, this page serves as the central location to control the collection and storage of this data on your device. Here, you can:
- Choose which Microsoft accounts (if any) should share activity history across devices.
- Configure whether Windows collects activities from that specific device.
- Clear your activity history from the device.
- Find options to manage activity history associated with your Microsoft account online.
By accessing this setting, you gain control over whether Windows tracks your activities and the ability to clear this collected history, offering insight into the types of activities being monitored for Windows features.
