PowerShell Telemetry
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Recommendation
SituationalDisable for privacy: PowerShell 7+ sends usage data on every launch, and BoosterX recommends turning it off on gaming PCs, where PowerShell is used occasionally.
There is no noticeable performance impact — only a running pwsh session sends data, not a background process.
- Main effect
- Disabling PowerShell telemetry
- FPS and memory
- See the research
What changes
Section titled “What changes”Telemetry is part of PowerShell 7+ (the pwsh executable). According to the about_Telemetry documentation, the OS and PowerShell versions, launch parameters without values and the execution policy are sent at startup, and during a session information about imported modules and enabled experimental features is sent. Windows PowerShell 5.1, built into Windows, does not have this telemetry: only pwsh collects it. Disabling affects exactly this data; security logs, Script Block Logging and command history are configured separately and are not touched by the setting.
Exceptions and differences
Section titled “Exceptions and differences”Distinguish the products: $PSVersionTable in the pwsh console shows 7.x, in the
built-in PowerShell — 5.1. The documented opt-out is the
POWERSHELL_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT environment variable, which takes effect before the
process starts. Starting with PowerShell 7.6.2 on Windows, disabling is also
available through the general “Settings” → “Privacy & security” → “Diagnostics &
feedback”. Do not disable protective logging according to third-party
instructions, mistaking it for telemetry.
How to verify the result
Section titled “How to verify the result”Start a new PowerShell 7 session and run $Env:POWERSHELL_TELEMETRY_OPTOUT:
the variable must be set — environment variables are read when the process
starts. Verify the composition of the collected data against the about_Telemetry
page.
How to change and revert
Section titled “How to change and revert”Open “Optimization” → “Privacy” → “Dev tools and CLI” → “PowerShell Telemetry” and switch the toggle to “Enabled”: BoosterX will apply the PowerShell telemetry opt-out. Click “Apply”. If “Instant apply” is enabled, a separate button is not required. To revert, switch the toggle to “Disabled” and apply the change again: BoosterX will return Windows to its default state with PowerShell telemetry enabled; new PowerShell sessions will pick up the variable.
Confirmation
Section titled “Confirmation”- Microsoft: about_Telemetry, checked 2026-09-19.
- Privacy policy research.
- Related setting: “Dot Net Telemetry”.
Last checked: 2026-09-19.