A large internet bill or a busy home connection needs a clear traffic scope. Delivery Optimization manages certain Microsoft updates and app downloads; its settings are not a general limit on everything the computer sends or receives.

Before changing it, note whether the concern is peer uploading, automatic update downloads or a manually started download. Keep the date of the change so later statistics can be interpreted against the right period.

Inspect the update traffic and sharing choice

In Windows 11, open Settings, Windows Update, Advanced options, Delivery Optimization. Its Activity monitor shows the current month's download sources, average download speed and upload information.

Return to the sharing controls. Choose Devices on my local network if you want local peer sharing without internet peers. Turning Allow downloads from other devices off stops peer transfers, while updates and Store content still come from Microsoft. Microsoft states that this sharing feature does not distribute your personal documents.

Look at the source breakdown before assuming every downloaded gigabyte came through the internet connection. Conversely, do not mistake an update-sharing total for a complete record of browser, game or cloud-storage traffic.

Set a limit that covers the intended activity

Download options allow absolute Mbps or percentage limits for background and foreground activity. Upload options include bandwidth and monthly upload limits for sharing to internet devices. Choose values that leave room for your actual work; lower update bandwidth also means waiting longer for delivery.

Microsoft documents an important exception: these download limits apply to automatic updates, not downloads you initiate manually through Windows Update or the Store. Starting one manually is therefore not a reliable test of the automatic-download limit.

If an organisation manages the settings, take the traffic evidence to its administrator rather than trying to override the policy.

Revisit Activity monitor after normal use and compare it with your dated note. Existing month totals will still describe earlier activity, so a nonzero number alone does not show that the new choice failed. Use a broader network-usage investigation if the remaining traffic comes from another application.

Sources: Microsoft Delivery Optimization controls; Microsoft update-sharing privacy.