Disable Windows 11 widgets – Boost Windows Performance

Widgets in Windows 11 are pages that contain a collection of information from various sources that the user can see at a glance.

Using widgets helps Windows users improve overall functionality and save time by reducing the need to open apps for small tasks, such as checking the news, weather forecasts, sports, stocks, photos, traffic, calendars, and more.

The widget was first presented to the public as News and Interests on Windows 10, but the response from Windows users was not as expected.

To access the widgets in Windows 11 is very easy, you just need to click on the widget icon on the taskbar. Apart from that, you can also access the Widgets menu using the keyboard shortcut (Win + W).

Many people, myself included, think that widgets are not something we need or want and just add to the burden on the PC.

Removing Windows 11 Widget Icons

To remove the widget icon from the taskbar, you can do the following:

1. Open “ Settings ” using the shortcut ( Win + I ).
2. In the “Settings” window, in the left-hand field select “ Personalization ” and in the right-hand field scroll down until you find “Taskbar”. Then click “ Taskbar ” to see the available options.

3. On Taskbar items, select “ Widgets ” and slide the switch to the left to disable widgets.

This method only removes the Widget icon from the taskbar, the Widget can still be accessed using the shortcut (Win + W) and is still running in the background

Removing Widgets with Group Policy

There are many ways to remove Widgets, one of the easiest ways is through “Group Policy”.

1. Open the “Group Policy Editor” by clicking the search button on the Taskbar, then type ” gpedit ” in the search field and then select and click the icon from ” Edit group policy “.

2. Navigate to “ Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets ”. Then on the right side double click on “ Allow widgets”.

3. In the window that appears, select “Disabled” and then click the “OK” button.

4. Close the “Group Policy Editor” window, then restart your PC to see the results.