10 ways to turn off Windows’ worst ads

Both Windows 11 and Windows 10 are full of advertisements and other Microsoft-provided messages that pop up seemingly everywhere and can get in the way of your day-to-day routines. And then there are things that aren’t exactly ads — noisy notifications about viral online articles on MSN, for instance, where Microsoft gets a cut of the advertising. 

Want to get rid of all the annoying ads and pop-ups you can? After a few tweaks, Windows will quiet down and stop bothering you so much when you’re trying to get work done. (Alas, Microsoft doesn’t make it possible to turn off everything, so don’t be surprised if you still see a few surprises even after following this guide.) 

I’ve got so many more useful PC tips and tricks to share with you! Sign up for my free Windows Intelligence newsletter — three things to try every Friday. Plus, get free copies of Paul Thurrott’s Windows 11 and Windows 10 Field Guides (a $10 value) for signing up. 

Disable Start menu ads

Windows 11 is getting advertisements for apps in its Start menu — something Windows 10 PCs already have. To avoid seeing these: 

• In Windows 11, open the Settings app and head to Personalization > Start. Turn off “Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more.” 
• In Windows 10, open the Settings app and head to Personalization > Start. Turn off “Show suggestions occasionally in Start.”  

Get rid of notification ads and full-screen prompts 

Windows might sometimes send you notification pop-ups with “tips and suggestions.” These tips can include recommendations to use Microsoft Edge and messages pushing the Microsoft Rewards points program. Additionally, Windows sometimes shows you “finish setting up your PC” prompts with messages about using OneDrive and Microsoft 365. To get rid of these: 

• In Windows 11, open the Settings app and head to System > Notifications. Scroll down to the bottom of the screen, expand the “Additional settings” section, and uncheck the three options here: “Get tips and suggestions when using Windows,” “Suggest ways to get the most out of Windows and finish setting up this device,” and “Show the Windows welcome experience after updates and when signed in to show what’s new and suggested.” 
• In Windows 10, open the Settings app and head to System > Notifications & actions. Turn off these three options: “Show me the Windows welcome experience after updates and occasionally when I sign in to highlight what’s new and suggested,” “Suggest ways I can finish setting up my device to get the most out of Windows,” and “Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows” options. 

Stop seeing ads in Settings 

Windows shows you more “suggestions” for subscriptions like Microsoft 365, Copilot Pro, and Xbox Game Pass in the Settings app. To get rid of these: 

• In Windows 11, open the Settings app and head to Privacy & security > General. Turn off “Show me suggested content in the Settings app.” 

• In Windows 10, open the Settings app and head to Privacy > General. Turn off “Show me suggested content in the Settings app.” 

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Hide ads in File Explorer 

Microsoft has used banners in File Explorer to show advertisements for OneDrive storage. To avoid seeing these: 

• In Windows 11, open File Explorer, click the “…” menu on the toolbar, and select “Options.” Click over to the “View” tab, scroll down to near the bottom of the list, and uncheck “Show sync provider notifications.” Click “OK.” 

• In Windows 10, open File Explorer, click the “View” tab on the ribbon, and click “Options.” Click over to the “View” tab, scroll down to near the bottom of the list, and uncheck “Show sync provider notifications.” Click “OK.” 

Avoid lock screen ads 

Windows PCs can use Microsoft’s Windows Spotlight feature to see regularly updated background images on their lock screen. It’s a nice feature, but Microsoft has also used it to push full-screen advertisements for PC games and advertising-type messages. To stop this from happening: 

• In Windows 11, open the Settings app and head to Personalization > Background. Set “Personalize your background” to something like “Picture” and choose whatever picture you like — anything but “Windows Spotlight.” 

• In Windows 10, open the Settings app, head to Personalization > Lock screen. Click the “Background” box and select “Picture” or “Slideshow” — anything but “Windows Spotlight.” Turn off the “Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen” switch here, too. (It won’t appear if Windows Spotlight is turned off.) 

Personally, I put up with this — I’d rather have the fresh lock-screen images, even if I see an advertisement every now and then. It’s up to you. 

Hide clutter in the search pane 

The search box on the taskbar and the pop-up search experience both have “highlights” that recommend all kinds of shopping content, games, and other viral things. To turn those off: 

• In Windows 11, open the Settings app and head to Privacy & security > Search permissions. Scroll down and turn off “Show search highlights” here. 

• Windows 10 does not have this feature, so there’s nothing to turn off. 

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Never see feedback popups 

Windows might sometimes ask for feedback about your PC experience: Would you recommend Windows to other people? To avoid these interruptions and stop Windows from asking for feedback: 

• In Windows 11, open the Settings app and head to Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback. Click the “Feedback frequency” box and set it to “Never.” 

• In Windows 10, open the Settings app and head to Privacy > Diagnostics & feedback. Scroll down and set the “Feedback frequency” box to “Never.” 

Turn off the viral firehose in Widgets 

Windows 11’s Widgets experience pushes viral news articles and shows stock price movements on your taskbar by default. Windows 10 has a similar feature that also recommends viral stories. To turn off Widgets completely: 

• In Windows 11, right-click an empty spot on the taskbar, select “Taskbar settings,” and turn off “Widgets.” 

• In Windows 10, right-click an empty spot on the taskbar, point to “News and interests,” and select “Turn off.” 

Or, you can just turn off those viral stories: 

• In Windows 11, click the Widgets icon at the left side of the taskbar, click the gear icon at the top-right corner of the Widgets pane, click “Show or hide feeds,” and turn off “My feed.” 

• Windows 10 doesn’t let you turn off the viral story feed while keeping the weather on the taskbar. 

Chris Hoffman, IDG

Toss apps that come stuck to your Start menu 

Windows PCs come with a bunch of app shortcuts “pinned” to their Start menus. Most of these apps aren’t technically installed yet — they’ll just be installed if you click their shortcuts. For example, you might see apps like “Luminar Neo – AI Photo Editor” and “Grammarly” pinned to your Start menu. To get rid of them: 

• In Windows 11, open the Start menu. Look at the list of pinned apps. Right-click apps you don’t use and select either “Uninstall” or “Unpin from Start.” 

• In Windows 10, open the Start menu. Look at the list of pinned app tiles on the right side of the menu. Right-click apps you want to get out of there and select either “Uninstall” or “Unpin from Start.” 

If your Windows 10 PC is old enough, you might even see a tile for Candy Crush! (Amusingly enough, Microsoft now owns Candy Crush after its controversial acquisition of Activision-Blizzard.) 

You might also want to uninstall bundled apps you don’t want. For example, many new PCs come with a trial of McAfee antivirus — you can uninstall McAfee antivirus if you’re not going to use it. 

Clean up Microsoft Edge

The Microsoft Edge browser is stuffed full of viral news stories, AI features, links to MSN games, recommendations for coupons, and all kinds of other additional things. You can avoid them by switching to another web browser, but if you want to use Edge, here are a few steps you can take: 

• Clean up Edge’s Start page: Open a new tab in Microsoft Edge, click the gear icon at the top-right corner of the page, turn off “Content,” and turn off “Show sponsored background.” 

• Turn off the sidebar: Click the gear icon at the bottom of the sidebar on the right side of the Edge browser. Uncheck “Always show sidebar.” 

• Get rid of shopping notifications: Click the menu icon near the top-right corner of the Edge browser window and choose “Settings.” Select “Privacy, search, and services” at the left side of the Settings page, scroll down to the “Services” section, and turn off “Save time and money with Shopping in Microsoft Edge.” 

If you like some of these features — that’s fine! But there’s a lot going on in Edge, and just changing these few settings should quieten things down. 

Chris Hoffman, IDG

More PC annoyances you can end 

If you’d like to take control over your PC, be sure to check out my guide on how to sign in with a local account. There’s a secret handshake you can use while setting up your computer. 

Still find Windows annoying? Some of the biggest annoyances on Windows 11 and Windows 10 PCs aren’t ads at all! Here’s a list of 10 Windows annoyances — and how to fix them. For example, you can turn off Bing search in the Start menu completely — but Microsoft buries this option and makes it hard to find. 

Want something that’s not annoying? Get even more Windows insights, tips, and tricks with my free Windows Intelligence newsletter, which brings you three new things to try every Friday. Plus, get free Windows 10 and 11 Field Guides as soon as you sign up.