Removing ads from Windows 11 isn’t exactly a walk in the park, but it’s doable—if you know where to look. Sometimes those annoying suggestions, promotions, or tips pop up all over the place, especially in the Start menu or notification area. They can be helpful for some, but most folks just want a cleaner, distraction-free work environment. Here’s how you can block a lot of that clutter without diving into shady third-party tools.
How to Remove Ads from Windows 11
Basically, it’s about turning off the personalization stuff and hiding suggestions. These are the main triggers for the ads.
Method 1: Tweak Privacy Settings
This one’s pretty straightforward. Ads in Windows usually rely on those Advertising ID and personalization options. Disabling them cuts down on targeted ads, and the interface gets less cluttered.
Why it helps? Because Windows uses your activity data to serve up ads and suggestions, so turning off those options stops a lot of the personalized stuff from showing. When to do it? If you’re tired of being shown suggestions that are more annoying than useful. Expect to see fewer targeted ads and suggestions in places like the Start menu and Settings.
Head to Settings > Privacy & Security, then click on General. Find the option Let apps use advertising ID to make ads more interesting to you based on your app activity and uncheck it.
On some setups, I’ve noticed this doesn’t block everything. Windows still pushes some suggestions. Weird, I know. But it does help significantly.
Method 2: Turn off Suggestions in Start
Next up, those pesky tips that pop up in your Start menu—beyond ads, I mean. They’re usually just suggestions or promotional content. To disable:
Go back to Settings, then to Personalization > Start. Look for Show suggestions occasionally in Start and toggle it off.
This is a biggie. On some systems, enabling this is what causes the “Recommended” section to be filled with ads or promotions. Turning it off tends to turn that off, too. However, sometimes a restart might be needed or you’ll have to log out and back in for the change to kick in. My experience? On one setup it worked immediately, on another, a reboot was required. Windows has to make things a little harder than necessary.
Method 3: Disable Tips & Notifications
Another layer of annoyance is tips and notifications that pop up in the system tray. To reduce these, go to Settings > System > Notifications & actions. Turn off Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows or similar options. This will cut down on some in-app prompts that feel like ads, but not all of them.
Note: Some ads are hardcoded or come from third-party apps, so these steps only reduce the in-OS clutter. If you still see ads or suggestions, check if any recent app installations have notifications enabled that you can disable.
Method 4: Use Registry Tweaks (for the power users)
If none of the above cuts it, some folks poke around in the Registry to remove settings tied to suggestions or ads. But beware—manual registry editing can mess things up if you’re not careful. Usually, you’d navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentDeliveryManager and disable things like SubscribedContent-338388Content1. Setting certain DWORD values to 0 can hide suggestions.
Why bother? Because it can turn off some of the persistent suggestion banners, but it’s not always guaranteed to work perfectly and can cause side effects. Use this only if comfortable with Registry editing and always back up first. Plus, of course, Microsoft might change this with updates, so it’s not a foolproof method.
More tips to keep your Windows clean
- Keep Windows updated. Sometimes patches are rolled out that either re-enable or disable certain ad features. Staying current helps avoid surprises.
- Use a browser ad blocker. Not everything is Windows-specific—many ads appear on sites. Extensions like uBlock Origin or AdGuard help here.
- Review notification settings regularly, especially after installing new apps. Those can sometimes add their own prompts or ads.
- If you’re really fed up, explore third-party ad blocker tools or tweaks—just be cautious and stick to reputable stuff.
- Keep an eye on new apps or bloatware. Some come with ad features, and uninstalling or restricting their permissions can help.
FAQs — Because why not
How do I remove ads from the lock screen?
Access Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen. Change the background to a picture or slideshow instead of Windows Spotlight. This cuts out a lot of those “discover Windows features” ads appearing when locked.
Can I disable all ads forever?
Nope, not 100%. Windows always has some built-in promotional stuff that’s baked into the OS. But reducing personalization and turning off suggestions gets you close. For total removal, third-party tools or deep registry hacks are sometimes needed—kind of risking, so don’t say no one warned ya.
Why do ads still pop up after I turned everything off?
Because of browser ads, third-party apps, or sometimes sneaky Windows features. Also, some updates re-enable certain features or suggestions. Checking app-specific notification settings often helps.
Is this safe? Do these tweaks hurt privacy?
Turning off ad personalization generally improves privacy because it limits data sharing with Microsoft. Registry tweaks can be safe if done carefully, but always back up first.
Are third-party ad blockers risky?
Some are, especially shady ones. Stick to well-known, trusted programs like uBlock Origin, and avoid shady browser extensions or dubious software. Better safe than sorry.
Summary of Steps
- Open Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security and disable ad personalization.
- In Personalization > Start, turn off suggestions.
- Disable tips/notifications in System > Notifications.
- If needed, tweak the Registry to block suggestions further.
Hopefully, this shaves off a few hours for someone. Just remember, Windows isn’t perfect at hiding its promos, but with a bit of digging, it’s manageable. Good luck cleaning up that cluttered interface—finally.