Features you should disable in Windows 11 for a better experience

Windows 11 is an operating system designed to improve the user experience and increase productivity, offering a wide range of features. However, not all of these features are essential for everyday use. Some of them, in fact, can slow down the system or simply be unnecessary.

For this reason, if you are upgrading or have purchased a new computer that comes with this version by default, there are certain features that you should consider disabling as soon as you turn on your PC to optimize its performance.

List of features you should disable in Windows 11

• Start Menu Notifications: These notifications appear in the user profile menu and inform you about the status of your Microsoft account and OneDrive. If you do not use them or are not interested in these notifications, you can deactivate them. Go to Setting, Personalization, Start and deactivate the option Show account-related notifications occasionally on Home.

• Search box on the taskbar: The taskbar in Windows 11 includes a search box that offers quick access to the system search interface. However, you can access this same functionality from the Start menu. You can remove this function by opening Settingsgoing to Personalization and in Look for select the taskbar page, where you can choose to hide this setting.

• Move taskbar items to the left: In Windows 11, items appear in the center of the screen by default. If you prefer classic left alignment, you can change this setting. To do this, open Settingsgo to Personalization, and select the taskbar page. Then in Taskbar behaviorchoose the left alignment option.

• Disable the news widget: The widget panel includes a news feed that may not be relevant to everyone. To delete this feed, open the panel on the left side of the taskbar, go to settings, and select Show or hide fonts. By doing so, you will disable Microsoft Start to have a cleaner panel.

• Apps that start with Windows: Some applications are set to start automatically when you turn on your computer, which can slow down the startup process. To avoid this, go to Settings, Apps, Home and disable the apps that you don’t want to start automatically.

• System notifications: Constant system and app notifications can interrupt your workflow and be annoying. To reduce these distractions, open Settingsgo to System and select Notifications. Here you can disable notifications or activate the mode Do not bother to minimize interruptions.

• Advertisements: Windows 11 uses a unique identifier to show you personalized ads based on your activity. You can disable this function in Settings, Privacy and security and then in General. Disable the option Allow apps to show me personalized ads using my advertising ID.

• Diagnostic data: Microsoft collects data about your device usage to improve its services, but you can limit the amount of data sent. To do so, go to SettingsChoose Privacy & Security and then Ccomments and diagnoses. Here you can deactivate the option Send optional diagnostic data.

• Recommendations in the Start menu: The Windows 11 Start menu shows you recommendations for apps, files, and websites you’ve used recently. If you prefer a cleaner and tidier system, without these recommendations, you can disable them all in the settings. Personalization and Start.

• Remove date and time: The taskbar displays the current date and time. If you already have a clock on your desktop or use other applications to check the time, you can disable this feature to avoid distractions. You can do it in Settings, Time & language, Date & time and select Show time and date in system tray.

• Game bar: If you don’t use your computer to play games, you can disable the game bar and game mode to free up system resources. To do this, open SettingsChoose Games and then game bar. Disable the option Allow the controller to open Game Bar. Then, in the section Game modedeactivates this function.

• Search Highlights: When you use Windows Search, the system shows you highlights from Bing, Microsoft’s search engine, which can end up being annoying and even frustrating. If you prefer not to see these results, you can disable them by going to Settings, Privacy and security, Search permissions and in More settings deactivate Show search highlights.

• Distinctions in applications: Badges are small numbers that appear on app icons in the taskbar to indicate the number of pending notifications. If you find them annoying or prefer to check notifications directly in the Notification Center, turn them off in Settings, Personalization, Taskbar, Taskbar behaviors and uncheck, Show badges in taskbar apps.

• Copilot: It is the digital assistant based on artificial intelligence that is integrated into Windows and which is developed by Microsoft. If you don’t use this feature, you can disable it to free up system resources. To do this in Windows 11, go to SettingsChoose Personalization and then Taskbar, where you can disable the Copilot button.

Turning off these features will not only help you personalize your Windows 11 experience, but it can also improve your PC’s performance by freeing up system resources that these features consume in the background.

The best of all is that you have to do the entire procedure within the Settings application in an easy and simple way, so you don’t have to take additional steps.

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Tags: Windows 11