How to Turn Off Copilot Telemetry in Microsoft 365 Apps

You want to stop Copilot from sending usage and performance data back to Microsoft from your Microsoft 365 apps. Telemetry data includes information about which Copilot features you use, how often you use them, and any errors that occur. This data helps Microsoft improve the product, but some organizations and individual users prefer to disable it for privacy or compliance reasons. This article explains how to turn off Copilot telemetry using Group Policy, the Microsoft 365 admin center, and the Windows Registry.

How Copilot Telemetry Works in Microsoft 365

Copilot telemetry is part of the broader Microsoft 365 diagnostic data system. When you interact with Copilot in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook, the client app logs events such as prompt submissions, response latency, feature usage counts, and error codes. This data is transmitted to Microsoft servers at regular intervals.

Microsoft uses three levels of diagnostic data: Required, Optional, and None for organizations with specific compliance needs. Required data includes basic device information and error reports. Optional data adds detailed usage patterns and feature performance metrics. Copilot telemetry falls under Optional diagnostic data by default.

For enterprise tenants, the admin can control telemetry through Group Policy or the Microsoft 365 admin center. For individual users with a Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise subscription, the Windows Registry provides a direct method to disable telemetry. The methods described below apply to Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems running Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise or business.

What Data Is Collected by Copilot Telemetry

Copilot telemetry collects the following categories of data:

• Feature activation events (when you open the Copilot pane or click a suggestion)
• Prompt metadata (length, type of request such as summarize or draft)
• Response performance (time to generate, success or failure)
• Error details (exception messages, stack traces)
• Client version and language settings

Microsoft states that telemetry does not include the actual content of your documents or the full text of your prompts. However, prompt metadata can reveal the structure of your queries, which some organizations consider sensitive.

Methods to Turn Off Copilot Telemetry

Choose the method that matches your environment. For domain-joined computers, Group Policy is the most reliable approach. For Microsoft 365 tenants with cloud-managed devices, use the admin center. For individual computers without centralized management, use the Registry.

Method 1: Group Policy Editor

1. Open Local Group Policy Editor
   Press Windows + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. If you are on a domain, the policy will be enforced from the domain controller.
2. Navigate to the Telemetry Policy
   Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Microsoft Office 2016 > Telemetry Dashboard. If you do not see this path, download the latest Office Administrative Template files from the Microsoft Download Center.
3. Enable the Turn off telemetry policy
   Double-click Turn off telemetry. Select Enabled. Click OK. This setting blocks all Office telemetry, including Copilot data, for all users on the computer.
4. Apply the policy
   Open a Command Prompt as administrator and run gpupdate /force. Restart any open Microsoft 365 apps for the change to take effect.

Method 2: Microsoft 365 Admin Center

1. Sign in to the admin center
   Go to admin.microsoft.com and sign in with a Global Admin or Security Admin account.
2. Open Org settings
   In the left navigation, select Settings > Org settings. Scroll down to Security & privacy and click it.
3. Change diagnostic data level
   Under Diagnostic data, select Required diagnostic data only. This limits telemetry to essential data only and excludes Copilot usage metrics and performance data.
4. Save the setting
   Click Save. The change applies to all users in the tenant within a few hours. Users must restart their Office apps.

Method 3: Windows Registry

1. Open Registry Editor
   Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter. Confirm the User Account Control prompt.
2. Navigate to the telemetry key
   Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\office\16.0\common\telemetry. If the telemetry key does not exist, right-click the common key, select New > Key, and name it telemetry.
3. Create the DisableTelemetry DWORD
   Right-click in the right pane, select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it DisableTelemetry. Set the value to 1. Click OK.
4. Restart Microsoft 365 apps
   Close all Office applications and reopen them. Telemetry is now disabled for the current user.

Common Issues After Disabling Telemetry

Copilot Features Stop Working

Some Copilot features, such as the Copilot pane in Word, require connectivity to Microsoft services. Disabling telemetry does not block the service connection itself. If Copilot stops responding after you disable telemetry, check your internet connection and ensure the Copilot service is enabled in the Microsoft 365 admin center under Settings > Org settings > Copilot.

Group Policy Setting Does Not Apply

If the Turn off telemetry policy does not appear in Group Policy Editor, you may be missing the Office Administrative Templates. Download the latest Office Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) from the Microsoft Download Center and copy them to the C:\Windows\PolicyDefinitions folder.

Registry Change Reverts After Update

Microsoft 365 updates can sometimes reset Registry values. To prevent this, apply the Registry change via a Group Policy preference or a startup script. For a single computer, reapply the Registry change after each major Office update.

Comparison of Telemetry Disable Methods

Item	Group Policy	Admin Center	Registry
Scope	All users on a computer	All users in a tenant	Single user
Management requirement	Domain-joined computer or local admin	Global Admin or Security Admin	User-level access
Effect on Copilot	Blocks all telemetry, Copilot still works	Limits telemetry to required data	Blocks all telemetry for that user
Persistence	Survives updates	Survives updates	May reset after major update

Disabling Copilot telemetry in Microsoft 365 apps is straightforward using Group Policy for managed environments, the admin center for tenant-wide control, or the Registry for individual users. Each method effectively stops the transmission of usage and performance data to Microsoft. After applying the change, verify by checking the Microsoft 365 Diagnostic Data viewer or reviewing network traffic to telemetry.microsoft.com. For enterprise compliance, combine the admin center setting with a Group Policy to ensure consistent enforcement across all devices.