mr-r3b00t/go_darker

Go Darker is a small collection of PowerShell scripts for Windows 11 that let you see and control how much data your computer sends back to Microsoft, and how private your web browser is. It is aimed at advanced users and system administrators, not casual users, since some of the switches it exposes reduce security protections along with reducing data collection. The toolkit includes four scripts. One manages Windows telemetry and diagnostic data settings, along with related background services and scheduled tasks. Another manages privacy and telemetry settings inside Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Brave. A third manages Microsoft Defender antivirus, letting you view its protection status, run scans, and toggle its settings, though here turning things off means less protection rather than more privacy. A fourth script only reads and reports the various identifiers Windows exposes about your machine and account, without changing anything. The telemetry and browser tools share a consistent design: a color coded status screen showing what is currently on or off, an interactive menu for toggling individual settings, a read only report mode, and the ability to export the current status to a spreadsheet file. Each script works standalone using nothing but the PowerShell that already comes with Windows 11. The author is upfront that these scripts modify sensitive parts of Windows including the registry, services, and scheduled tasks, and they explicitly recommend testing on a non production machine and creating a backup or restore point before running anything with the bulk change options. The README also documents a long list of specific risks and tradeoffs, such as losing crash reporting, breaking corporate device management, or weakening malware protection if you disable certain security related items. The full README is longer than what was shown.