Remove Widgets
- Windows onlyThis script improves your privacy on Windows
- Multiple actionsThis page belongs to a category, containing some changes with similar goal.
- Impact: Medium
System Functionality / Data Loss Risk: Moderate
This action improves privacy with minimal impact when you run the recommended script.
This action improves privacy with some impact when you run the recommended script. - Batch (batchfile)These changes use Windows system commands to update your settings.
- 2 scripts
- No subcategories
- Administrator rights requiredThis script requires privilege access to do the system changes
- Fully reversible
You can fully restore this action (revert back to the original behavior) using this website.
The restore/revert methods provided here can help you fix issues.
Overview
Windows 11 adds a new taskbar flyout named "Widgets", which displays a panel with Microsoft Start, a news aggregator with personalized stories and content (expanding upon the "news and interests" panel introduced in later builds of Windows 10) 1. It's rebranding/future version of older "Windows 10 News and Interests" feature 2. The user can customize the panel by adding or removing widgets, rearranging, resizing, and personalizing the content 1.
It has privacy implications as it collects data about your usage of the computer such as diagnostics data 3.
This script is only recommended if you understand its implications.
Some non-critical or features may no longer function correctly after running this script.
This script can be fully reversed to restore changes if something goes wrong.
Sources
- Features new to Windows 11. Wikipedia. (2024).
Original: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_11
Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240314091958/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_11#Windows_shell - Windows 10 News and Interests enabled for everyone in latest update. Bleeping Computer. (2025).
Original: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/windows-10-news-and-interests-enabled-for-everyone-in-latest-update/ - What data does Microsoft collect?. Widgets. Microsoft. (2025).
Original: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/stay-up-to-date-with-widgets-7ba79aaa-dac6-4687-b460-ad16a06be6e4
Apply Now
Choose one of two ways to apply:
Download script
Download and run the script directly- No app needed
- Offline usage
- Easy-to-apply
- Free
- Open-source
High — Advanced Privacy
- For advanced privacy-conscious users
- May affect some features
Read more about High and other protection levels
Help
How to apply or restore "Remove Widgets" using script
- ≈ 2 min to complete
- Tools: Web Browser
- Difficulty: Simple
- ≈ 5 instructions
- 1
Download
Download the script file by clicking on thebutton above.
Use button above to restore changes. - 2
Keep the file
If warned by your browser, keep the file. - 3
Open
Open the downloaded file. - 4
Exit
Once it's done, press any key to exit the window. - 5
Restart
Restart your computer for all changes to take effect.
Apply with privacy.sexy
Guided, automated application with safety checks- Recommended for most users
- Includes safety checks
- Shows the code
- Free
- Open-source
- Popular
- Offline/Online usage
Help
How to apply or restore "Remove Widgets" using privacy.sexy
- ≈ 3 min to complete
- Tools: privacy.sexy
- Difficulty: Simple
- ≈ 4 instructions
- 2
Choose script
- Search for the category name: Remove Widgets
- Check the category by clicking on the checkbox of the category.
- 3
Run
Click on ▶️ Run button at the bottom of the page.This button only appears on desktop version (recommended). On browser, use 💾 Save button.
Explore This Guide
- 2 Privacy settings
Choose what to protect based on your needs: Click any option to learn more about what it does. Each change can be applied and reversed individually.
Some settings and commands may require technical knowledge to apply correctly.
Remove "Widgets" from taskbar
To control whether the Widgets button is visible on the taskbar, Microsoft introduced "TaskbarDa" registry value. Possible "DWORD" 32-bit settings for the "TaskbarDa" value are: 1. 0 = Hidden 2. 1 = Visible This registry key does not exist in Windows 11 installations by default.
Remove "Windows Web Experience Pack" (breaks Widgets)
This script removes the "Windows Web Experience Pack" app. This app is responsible for enabling the Widgets feature. Widgets are mini-programs that provide information and easy access to frequently used functions. The app is not essential, and its removal does not impact other functionalities of the operating system, provided you do not ntend to use Widgets. "Windows Web Experience Pack" app collects diagnostic data, and the individual widgets it enables might also gather user data. By removing ...
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Same Goal
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About the Creators
These people have authored this documentation and written its scripts:
Reviewed By
This guide has undergone comprehensive auditing and peer review:Expert review by undergroundwires
- Verified technical accuracy and editorial standards
- Assessed system impact and user privacy risks
Public review by large community
- Privacy enthusiasts and professionals peer-reviewed
- Millions of end-users tested across different environments
History
We continually monitor our guides, their impact and all other privacy options. We update our guides when new information becomes available. On every update, we publicly store who made the change, what has been changed, why the change was made and when the change was made.