How to Turn Off Windows 11 Widgets

This post shows students and new users how to add or remove widgets on the Windows 11 taskbar.

Widgets are feeds of content such as News, weather, stocks, and traffic that are automatically updated with live information from your Taskbar. The widgets are activated when you click on the widget’s icon on the Taskbar, swipe from the left using touch, or press the Windows + W keys on your keyboard.

Someone might want to disable widgets in Windows 11 for several reasons. One reason is that they may find the widgets distracting or cluttering their desktop. Another reason could be that they do not want their computer to use up resources by constantly updating the widgets with live information.

Additionally, some people may have privacy concerns about the information displayed in the widgets and want to disable them for security reasons.

Ultimately, it is up to the individual user to decide whether or not to disable widgets in Windows 11 based on their preferences and needs.

Remove Widgets from Windows 11 taskbar

The widget’s icon is added to the Windows 11 taskbar by default. You can customize the information displayed in widgets. If you don’t want to keep the widget icon on the Taskbar in Windows 11, simply right-click the icon and select Unpin from the Taskbar, as shown in the image below.

That will remove the widget and turn it off in Windows settings.

Add Widgets to Windows 11 taskbar

If the widget icon is not already on the Windows 11 taskbar, you can add it with a few clicks. To add Windows 11 widgets back to the Taskbar, click on Start and go to Settings.

Click Personalization on the left item list from the System’s settings page and scroll down to the Taskbar on the right, as shown below.

On the Taskbar settings page, toggle the button to On to enable Windows 11 widgets on the Taskbar. To disable, toggle the button to Off.

Turn Widgets On or Off from Registry

You can also turn Widgets on or off in the Windows 11 registry. To do that, use the Windows search feature and search for regedit, as shown below.

When the registry editor opens, navigate to the path below:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\TaskbarDa

Double-click the REG_DWORD and open. Then, use the value data to add or remove the widgets from the Taskbar.

0 = Remove
1 = Add

That should do it!

Conclusion:

• Widgets in Windows 11 enhance your taskbar with live updates on various topics.
• Users can easily add or remove widgets based on their personal preferences.
• Removing the widget icon from the taskbar simplifies your desktop and reduces distractions.
• Adding widgets back to the taskbar is a straightforward process through Settings or the Registry.
• It’s important to weigh the benefits of having widgets against potential privacy concerns and resource usage.
• Ultimately, customizing your taskbar helps optimize your Windows 11 experience to fit your needs.