Windows 11 widgets can be useful, but sometimes they go beyond the welcome.
Here's how to disable it.
Windows 11 widgets are a great way to stay abreast of topics you're interested
in, such as news, weather, and sports.
However, not many people find it useful or interesting, and if you are one of
them, you may be wondering how to disable it.
We'll show you three ways to do it.
Disable Widget Via Taskbar Settings
Let's get rid of the easiest method to disable widgets: Taskbar settings. You
can customize the Taskbar
in different ways, but to use them to disable widgets.
Follow these steps:
- Right-click on an empty space on the Taskbar and select Taskbar settings . Alternatively, you can right-click Start and navigate to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar .
- Under Taskbar items , find the Widgets option and toggle the switch to Off .
Disable Widgets Using Registry Editor
If you are familiar with the Windows Registry Editor, you can use it to
disable widgets in Windows 11.
As always, we advise caution when using this tool. That's because it changes
the value in the Windows Registry, and you can render Windows 11 unusable if
you change the wrong thing.
With that said, here's how to open the Registry Editor in Windows 11 and get
rid of those annoying widgets:
- Click the magnifying glass icon on the Taskbar to run the search function.
- Type "registry editor" in the search box and click Registry Editor from the results to launch the application.
- Click Yes at the prompt that appears.
- Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER in the left sidebar, navigate to Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer > Advanced.
- Double click on TaskbarDa on the right.
- In the dialog box that appears, set the Value data field to 0 to disable the widget (setting it to 1 will enable it again).
- Click OK and close Registry Editor.
Disable Widget Using Group Policy Editor
The final method we will look at is to disable the widget using the Group
Policy Editor. Think of it as an indirect way of working with the Windows
Registry.
To disable the widget with the Group Policy Editor, follow these steps:
- Press Windows key + R to launch Run.
- Type gpedit.msc in the text box and press Enter to launch the Group Policy Editor.
- Under Computer Configuration, navigate to Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets.
- Right click on Allow widgets and select Edit.
- Click the Disable radial button to disable all widgets.
- Click OK to close the Group Policy Editor.
Goodbye Widgets in Windows 11
Widgets allow you to stay up-to-date on the things that interest you.
Windows 11 has it enabled by default, but you're not stuck with it.
And since you can customize the OS to your liking, you can turn it on and
off whenever you want.