How to Completely Disable ‘Windows Error Reporting’ (WER) via Group Policy in Windows 11

Windows Error Reporting (WER) is a telemetry service built into Windows that automatically collects detailed diagnostic data—including application memory dumps, faulting module information, and system state—when an application crashes, and securely transmits that payload to Microsoft’s Watson servers for analysis. While this helps Microsoft identify and patch widespread software bugs, it represents a critical data exfiltration risk in highly secure enterprise environments. If a proprietary internal application or a secure database client crashes, the resulting memory dump transmitted by WER could inadvertently contain highly sensitive corporate data, Protected Health Information (PHI), or cryptographic keys.

This guide explains how to completely disable Windows Error Reporting system-wide using the Group Policy Editor in Windows 11, ensuring crash telemetry is never transmitted off the endpoint.

Disable Windows Error Reporting via Group Policy

To enforce a strict block that prevents the OS from generating and transmitting crash reports to Microsoft, we must deploy an administrative template. Note that this requires Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions.

1. Log into Windows 11 with an Administrator account.
2. Press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialogue box.
3. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter to launch the Local Group Policy Editor.
4. In the left-hand navigation pane, strictly follow this exact path:

   Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Error Reporting

5. In the right-hand pane, locate the policy named Disable Windows Error Reporting.
6. Double-click the policy to open its configuration window.
7. Select the radio button next to Enabled. (Note the phrasing: Enabling the policy successfully disables the WER feature).
8. Click Apply, then click OK.

Verify the Telemetry Lockdown

To enforce the change immediately across the system, open an elevated Command Prompt and execute gpupdate /force. A system reboot is recommended to ensure the WerSvc (Windows Error Reporting Service) completely unloads.

To verify the restriction is active, open the Services console (services.msc) and locate the “Windows Error Reporting Service”. While its startup type might still say Manual, Group Policy will aggressively prevent it from initializing and transmitting data when an application faults. Furthermore, if an application crashes, the user will only see a standard local error dialog without the “Checking for a solution…” progress bar, confirming that the telemetry payload has been intercepted and destroyed locally. Your proprietary application data is now secure against accidental transmission during a crash event.