Windows Bloat Removal Guide: Debloat Safely and Keep What You Need

Imagine Windows 11, free of all the bloatware and clutter. Just an operating system, doing what it’s supposed to do. I don’t think that’s too much to ask, right? Below, I’ll show you how to safely debloat your system without accidentally breaking something in the process.

In this guide, you’ll find out how to easily remove programs, disable startup apps, clean up Windows Search, Start, and more.

Uninstall Apps Via Settings

You can significantly declutter your OS right from your Settings and uninstall a lot of the bundled apps you don’t need. You can get rid of Xbox-related programs, Solitaire, People, Weather, etc. Basically, anything on that list is safe to remove, and you can reinstall it easily if needed.

I especially recommend removing preinstalled third-party antiviruses, since they can be really pushy. They also generally aren’t as efficient as Windows Defender.

To do so:

1. Open the Settings and go to Apps > Installed apps.
2. Click on the three dots next to the apps you want to dispose of, and click Uninstall.

Unfortunately, there are some things Windows doesn’t let you remove so easily. You’ll have to use a dedicated debloater for that.

Use A Debloat Tool

First, a word of warning:

There are many PowerShell scripts floating around, promising instant results. While not having to do everything manually is convenient, you shouldn’t just blindly activate scripts and hope for the best.

They might remove some services that your OS will need, and it will be hard to find out which ones are missing. Imagine going to a doctor to get your appendix removed, only to end up without a liver or lung instead.

You should always read up on all the changes the debloater will apply, so there aren’t any nasty surprises later. And create a restore point, just in case.

For a relatively conservative debloat without any risky business, I recommend Win11Debloat. It’s one of the most transparent tools you can use. Its default mode is completely safe to use, with a detailed list of all the included tweaks.

Moreover, it uses Windows package management tools like WinGet and Appx to remove preinstalled apps. The default removal option covers various Microsoft Bing services, Microsoft Get Started, Copilot, and more. You can browse the full list of apps on GitHub.

Aside from bloatware, you can minimize telemetry, diagnostics, targeted ads, widgets, and other Windows annoyances.

Disable Startup Apps

So many background apps needlessly launch at startup, hogging your precious CPU power and memory. So, if you want to free up some resources and speed up your boot time, it’s time to visit Task Manager:

1. Right-click your taskbar and open Task Manager.
2. On the left side, select Start-up apps.
3. Right-click the apps and hit Disable.

For example, I’ve disabled OneDrive, Copilot, Edge, Xbox, Teams, and more, without any issues.

Remove internet search results from Windows Search

Don’t you love it when you’re looking for a program on Windows Search, a program you know you have installed on your PC, only for it to spam you with web results? Unfortunately, you can’t disable this brilliant feature from the Settings.

You’ll have to use the Registry Editor instead:

1. Open the Registry Editor, and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows.
2. Right-click the Windows folder and select New > Key. Name it Explorer.
3. In the Explorer folder, right-click and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it DisableSearchBoxSuggestions.
4. Double-click it and type in 1 in the Value data field.
5. Next, you’ll have to restart Windows Explorer. Right-click the taskbar and open Task Manager. Find Windows Explorer and click on Restart task.

Disable Search Highlights

Search highlights display daily trending searches, featured images, news, and more in Windows Search. Personally, I’m not a fan of it.

If you’d also like to keep your search box nice and clean without all these distractions, you can do so in the Settings:

1. Go to Privacy & security > Search.
2. Toggle off Show search highlights.

Remove Widgets From The Taskbar

One of the first things I like to do on a new Windows 11 machine is hide widgets from the taskbar. It’s just useless clutter.

Here’s how:

1. Right-click the taskbar and select Taskbar settings.
2. Under Taskbar items, toggle off Widgets.

Clean up the Windows Start menu

The Windows 11 Start menu looks too busy by default. To make things worse, it may also recommend new apps you haven’t installed. Yup, that’s advertisement.

To get this under control, you should go to Personalization > Start in your settings.

You should disable:

1. Show recently added apps.
2. Show the most used apps.
3. Show recommended files in Start, recent files in File Explorer, and items in Jump Lists.
4. Show websites from your browsing history.
5. Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more.

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For good measure, I also recommend going to Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers and toggling off Recommendations and offers in Settings.

And that should be it!

Debloating has changed a lot over the years. It used to mean removing unwanted third-party programs from your PC to keep Windows as vanilla as possible. Now, it mostly involves getting rid of default Windows apps and features.

Hopefully, this guide has made the process as painless as possible for you. Enjoy your new, lighter system!

selma citakovic Selma is a gamer, geek and gremlin hunter with a passion for cyber security and smashing Windows bugs before they bite. She’s IBM-certified, loves real freeware, despises bloatware, and powers most of her troubleshooting with an unhealthy amount of coffee.

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