Remember again when Windows 11 first got here out and Microsoft gave everybody a free move to improve? On the floor, it was a beneficiant transfer; if truth be told, it was a ploy to lure us away from Windows 10.
Obviously, if Microsoft was giving one thing away, it was going to return with a catch. In this case, it’s all of the advertisements which can be being added to Windows 11, going above and past what we’ve seen in earlier variations. Fortunately, we will disable these advertisements… for now, at the least.
If you’re fed up with all of the advertisements and suggestions all through Windows 11, there are many methods to push again. Here are the settings you should flip off to ditch Windows’ worst advertisements.
Further studying: 13 important Windows settings to change immediately
Jon Martindale / IDG
The Start menu has been fertile floor for Microsoft’s “Recommended” apps since Windows 10, and it’s alive and effectively within the newest builds of Windows 11. Fortunately, it’s easy to show off.
Navigate to Settings > Personalization > Start, then search for the choice titled “Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more” and toggle it to Off.
Ditch Windows notification advertisements
Jon Martindale / IDG
I’m not a fan of notifications. I’ve sufficient bother concentrating on duties daily with out pop-ups and alerts distracting me — and the very last thing I want are advertisements disguised as essential notifications.
Let’s flip these off, we could? And whereas we’re at it, let’s take away these pesky full-screen “Finish setting up” prompts, too.
Navigate to Settings > System > Notifications. Scroll all the way down to the underside the place you’ll discover Additional settings. Click to broaden these choices, then uncheck the bins for “Get tips and suggestions when using Windows,” “Suggest ways to get the most out of Windows and finish setting up this device,” and “Show the Windows welcome experience after updates and when signed in to show what’s new and suggested.” Phew, what a mouthful.
Stop urged advertisements in Settings
Jon Martindale / IDG
Fed up with Microsoft’s “suggestions” for Copilot and different options within the Settings app? You can flip these off, too. Navigate to Settings > Privacy and Security > General, then toggle the choice for “Show me suggested content in the Settings app” to Off.
Remove File Explorer advertisements
Jon Martindale / IDG
OneDrive will not be one among our top-pick cloud backup services, but it surely’s still pretty good and affordable. The drawback is, being bombarded with advertisements for it may be an enormous turn-off — and for those who’re like me, you’re in all probability sick of these advertisements in File Explorer. Here’s swap these off.
Open File Explorer and choose the three-dot menu within the actions toolbar. Select Options adopted by the View tab. Scroll down to close the underside of the record and search for “Show sync provider notifications.” Make positive it’s unchecked, then choose OK.
Jon Martindale / IDG
If you make use of Windows’ widgets, you recognize all too effectively that they usually attempt to push you in the direction of breaking tales, inventory updates, and different content material which may be irrelevant to you. To disable these, you possibly can both flip off particular feeds or disable widgets totally.
To take away a person widget feed, choose the widget icon on the bottom-left of your display, then choose the cog icon on the top-right of the widget window. Select Show or cover feeds and swap the feed(s) to Off.
To take away widgets totally, right-click in your taskbar and choose Taskbar settings. Then, toggle “Widgets” to Off.
Disable producer bloatware advertisements
Joel Lee / IDG
If to procure your PC or laptop computer from a serious producer like Dell, Lenovo, or HP, there’s an excellent likelihood it got here preloaded with unsolicited apps (“bloatware”) you don’t need or want. If you don’t wish to uninstall them altogether, you possibly can at the least minimize down on notification spam.
Navigate to Settings > System > Notifications and look by means of the record of apps till you discover any named after your PC’s producer. Disable these advertisements by toggling these notifications to Off.
Sometimes they offer their apps names which can be much less clearly figuring out. If you see any suspicious or uncommon apps, do a fast Google search on them to see in the event that they’re value disabling.
Block lock-screen and background advertisements
Jon Martindale / IDG
The Windows Spotlight characteristic dynamically adjustments your background and lock display photographs to keep your desktop feeling fresh and interesting. But Microsoft has sometimes proven advertisements for varied video games with it, and the associated suggestions generally is a little ad-like at instances, too.
Unfortunately, the one option to cease that for now could be to show off Windows Spotlight. If you’d moderately resort to static photographs that you just change your self, right here’s what you are able to do:
Navigate to Settings > Personalization > Background. Then, subsequent to Personalize your background, use the drop-down menu to pick out something apart from Windows Spotlight.
Also, navigate to Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen. Then, subsequent to Personalize your Lock Screen, use the drop-down menu to decide on any possibility that isn’t Windows Spotlight.
Hide the spotlight advertisements in Windows search
Jon Martindale / IDG
Ah, Windows search, how I really like and detest thee. You’re good at discovering apps so long as I kind them out accurately, however I don’t want you to point out me advertisements and urged purchasing content material. Let’s flip that off.
Navigate to Settings > Privacy and safety > Search permissions. Scroll down till you discover “Show search highlights” and toggle it Off.
No extra personalised advertisements
Jon Martindale / IDG
While all of the above settings will stop Microsoft from serving you as many advertisements inside Windows itself, they received’t cease the working system from amassing your information to serve you personalised advertisements sooner or later. You can put a cease to that now in order that even when an advert does someway get by means of, it received’t be extremely focused to you and your exercise.
Disable Windows system utilization monitoring by navigating to Settings > Personalization > Device Usage and toggling Off all of the choices there.
You may disable additional gathering of diagnostic information by navigating to Settings > Privacy and safety > General and toggling all of the choices there to Off as effectively.
Further studying: All the ways Windows 11 collects your data