How to Add or Remove “Learn about this picture” Desktop icon in Windows 11

This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the Learn about this picture desktop icon when using Windows Spotlight as your desktop background for your account in Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Why Use This Feature?

When you choose Windows Spotlight as your desktop background, Windows automatically adds a Learn about this picture icon on your desktop. This icon gives you quick access to information about your background image.

What Can You Do With This Icon?

You can hover over the Learn about this picture desktop icon to see information about the current Windows Spotlight picture.

You can right-click on the Learn about this picture desktop icon to:

• Select other pictures
• Vote to like or dislike the current picture
• Learn more about the current picture
• Minimize or maximize menu options

The icon can be dragged to any location you want on your desktop.

When Does the Icon Disappear?

If you choose a different picture, solid color, or slideshow instead of Windows Spotlight as your desktop background, the Learn about this picture icon will be removed.

Recent Changes to Windows Spotlight

Microsoft has made several updates to how the Learn about this picture icon works:

Windows 11 Build 22635.3785 (Beta): Microsoft tested new ways to interact with the Spotlight icon. Right-clicking launches the full Spotlight experience, while double-clicking opens the Bing landing page for the image.

Windows 11 Build 22631.4974 (23H2) and Later: The icon moved to the lower right area of your desktop. The icon color and background also changed. Now you can hover over or click the icon to see more information.

Windows 11 Build 26120.6690 (Dev 25H2): New options were added to the right-click menu. You can now see “Learn more about this background” and “Next desktop background” when you right-click on your desktop.

How to Add the Icon

⚠️ Admin Required: You need administrator privileges to run these commands.

1. Open the Windows Terminal app as an administrator
2. Run the command below to add the Learn about this picture desktop icon:
   

   reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace{2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3}" /ve /d "Windows Spotlight" /f
   reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel" /v "{2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3}" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

3. Press Enter
4. Close Windows Terminal
5. The icon should now appear on your desktop when Windows Spotlight is your background

How to Remove the Icon

⚠️ Admin Required: You need administrator privileges to run these commands.

1. Open the Windows Terminal app as an administrator
2. Run the commands below to remove the Learn about this picture desktop icon:
   

   reg delete "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Desktop\NameSpace{2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3}" /f
   reg add "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel" /v "{2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3}" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

3. Press Enter
4. Close Windows Terminal
5. The icon will now be hidden from your desktop

Summary

The Learn about this picture icon appears on your desktop when you use Windows Spotlight as your background. This icon lets you see information about your background image and vote on whether you like it. You can easily add or remove this icon using Windows Terminal with simple registry commands. Just copy the command for what you want to do (add or remove), paste it into Windows Terminal running as administrator, and press Enter. The change happens immediately.