How To Remove Or Disable Widgets On Windows 11

If the Widgets board keeps opening when you point at the taskbar, you can switch it off in a few clicks.

You can also block it system-wide or remove the app behind it if you never want weather and news cards again.

This guide goes from the quickest option to the most thorough one, so pick the level that fits.

Which Widgets option should you use?

Method	What it does	Reversible	Editions
Taskbar toggle	Hides the Widgets button on the taskbar	Yes	All
Widgets settings	Hides the Discover feed and badges	Yes	All
Group Policy “Allow widgets”	Blocks the whole Widgets experience on the PC	Yes	Pro, Enterprise, Education
Registry value	Sets the same policy value by hand	Yes	Not listed by Microsoft for Home
Uninstall the app	Removes the Widgets app	Yes, by reinstalling	Windows 11

Method 1: Turn off the taskbar button

This is Microsoft’s documented way to remove Widgets from the taskbar.

Right-click the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings.
Under Taskbar items, switch Widgets off.

Switch it back on in the same place to restore the button.

Good to know: with the button hidden, Microsoft says you can still open the board with Windows + W or by swiping in from the screen edge.

Why does Widgets open when I point at the taskbar?

Widgets can open when you hover over its taskbar icon, and this is a setting inside the Widgets board.

Open Widgets with Windows + W.
Select the Settings button in the board’s navigation bar.
Find the option that opens the board on hover and turn it off.

If you cannot find the option on your build, use Method 1 so the icon is no longer there to hover over.

Method 2: Hide the feed and badges

If you only want fewer news cards, adjust the board instead of removing it.

Discover dashboard: hide it from the settings button in the navigation bar.
Badges: under additional settings, control taskbar and navigation bar badges.
Single widgets: use a widget’s more options menu to resize or remove it.

Method 3: Block Widgets with Group Policy

Microsoft documents the “Allow widgets” policy for Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise and Education.

Press Windows + R, type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets.
Double-click Allow widgets, choose Disabled and click OK.
Restart the PC.

The policy applies to the whole device, not a single user, and setting it back to Not Configured undoes it.

Method 4: Block Widgets with the registry

The Group Policy setting is stored as one registry value, so you can create it by hand.

Microsoft’s policy page does not list Windows Home, so confirm that Widgets disappears after a restart.

Warning: create a restore point first, because a wrong registry edit can cause problems.

Item	Value
Key	HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Dsh
Value name	AllowNewsAndInterests
Type	DWORD (32-bit)
Data for blocked	0
Data for allowed (default)	1

Press Windows + R, type regedit and press Enter.
Go to the key above, and create the Dsh key if it is missing.
Create the DWORD, set it to 0 and restart.

To undo it, delete the value or set it to 1.

Method 5: Uninstall the Widgets app

Removing the app deletes Widgets instead of hiding it, and you must use an administrator PowerShell window.

Search for PowerShell in Start, right-click it and choose Run as administrator.
Run Get-AppxPackage *WebExperience* | Remove-AppxPackage.
Or run winget uninstall --id 9MSSGKG348SP, which targets the same Windows Web Experience Pack.

Uninstalling is harder to undo than the other methods, so try Method 1 or Method 3 first.

After removal, the Widgets switch disappears from Taskbar settings because there is nothing left to control.

How do I bring Widgets back?

Reinstall the app with winget install --id 9MSSGKG348SP in an administrator PowerShell window, then restart.

You can also reinstall it from the Microsoft Store.

Does hiding Widgets stop it running?

Not completely, because hiding the button leaves the Widgets process in the background.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
Open the Processes tab.
Look for Widgets and Microsoft Edge WebView2 entries.

WebView2 is shared with other apps, so the Widgets entry is the clearer sign, and the memory saving from removing it is small on a fast PC.

Keep Widgets but tidy the board

You do not have to remove it entirely if you only dislike parts of it.

Goal	How
Remove one widget	Select More options on the widget, then Remove widget
Resize a widget	More options, then pick a size (some widgets offer only one or two)
Change the weather city	More options, then Customize widget
Sign out of Discover	Discover dashboard, account button, Manage accounts, More profile settings, Sign out
Hide notification badges	Settings icon, More settings, Notifications

Microsoft says the widgets board uses your Microsoft account for personalization, and you can manage that data at account.microsoft.com/privacy.

If the toggle is greyed out or the button is stuck

Greyed out: a policy is controlling it, so on a work or school PC ask your IT administrator.
Stuck button: restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager, or sign out and back in.
Widgets not loading: Microsoft says you need the latest Windows Web Experience Pack and Start Experiences app.

Which block lasts longest?

Method	Hides the button	Blocks the board	Removes the app
Taskbar toggle	Yes	No	No
Widgets settings	No	No	No
Group Policy or registry	Yes	Yes	No
Uninstall	Yes	Yes	Yes

Check the Widgets toggle again after a major Windows update, in case a setting was changed.

More Windows 11 clean-up guides

Official references

Open Microsoft’s Widgets guide

How To Remove Or Disable Widgets On Windows 11 In 2026