Overview – Disable Widgets in Windows
In Microsoft Windows, a widget is one of the most versatile components. Without requiring to run a programs or start an application to perform a specific function (such as checking the weather status at your location), a widget allows you to access a variety of programs and information with a single click from any application. The prime motive for Microsoft to incorporate Widgets in Windows was to enhance productivity and personalization, making the operating system more user-friendly, utilizing the data, and Ai to improve Human-Computer Interaction.
But, it seems that you don’t use this feature often and want to save some RAM and internet data on your device by turning off the Widgets on your system. This is because the widgets continue to fetch data from the internet, increasing internet data usage, and they continue to run in the background, consuming RAM.
By the end of this article, you’ll be able to disable widgets on Windows 11:
1. Disable Widgets on Windows 11 using Taskbar Settings
Step 1: Open the Windows Settings from the Start Menu, select the “Personalization” option from the left sidebar, and click the “Taskbar” option.
Step 2: Toggle off the “Widgets” feature to disable Widgets and hide its icon from the taskbar.
2. Disable Windows 11 Widgets using Group Policy Editor
Step 1: Open the Local Group Policy from the Start Menu or press the “Windows Key + R” Key Combination to open Windows Run, type “gpedit.msc“, and press the enter key.
Step 2: Navigate to the following file path:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets.
Step 3: Double-click the “Allow Widgets” option, select the “Disabled” option and click the ‘Apply’ button.
Step 4: To save the changes without restarting your computer, run the command prompt as an administrator, type the command: gpupdate/force and hit the enter key. In some cases, you may need to restart your computer to reflect changes.
This policy specifies whether the widgets feature is allowed on the device. Widgets will be turned on by default unless you change this in your settings. If you turned this feature on before, it will stay on automatically unless you turn it off.
Note: If you frequently keep making changes to your device’s group policy configuration, then it’s recommended to backup Group Policy on your device to recover data in case of a data loss.
3. Disable Widgets on Windows 11 using Registry Editor
Step 1: Open the Registry Editor from the Start Menu or press the “Windows Key + R” Key Combination to open Windows Run, type “regedit“, and press the enter key.
Step 2: Navigate to the following file path:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
Step 3: Double click the “TaskbarDa” option and set its hexadecimal value data from 1 to 0, and click the “OK” button to save changes.
Step 4: Restart the computer to make changes take effect.
Note: If you frequently modify the device’s group policy configuration, then it’s better to enable automatic Registry Backup to recover data in case of a data loss.
Next Steps
We’ve covered how to disable Widgets in Windows 11 from Windows Settings, Group Policy Editor, and Registry Editor. Depending on your preferences, you may choose any method to disable Windows 11 widgets that is most convenient for you.
Once the widgets are disabled, the widgets app icon will be also removed from the taskbar and It’s totally fine to remove widgets in Windows 11 if you don’t use them often.
Further, customize your computer by referring to the related articles below.
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