I recently reinstalled Windows on a separate SSD just for gaming, and when I did that, I also debloated my Windows install. While I was partially doing it for the potential performance benefits, I was surprised by just how much bloat Windows actually ships with. You can use a Tiny11 debloated version of Windows if you'd prefer, but Win11Debloat can manage most of it for you.

If you want to try out Tiny11 Builder, a script that lets you apply these changes to your own Windows 11 ISO, and it works with any version of Windows 11.

Windows comes with a ridiculous amount of bloat

Preinstalled applications and a ton of telemetry

If you purchase or build a new computer and install Windows 11 on it, you'll get a lot of software that you might never use. These can include:

• TikTok
• Microsoft Teams
• OneNote
• Copilot
• Xbox Game Bar

Not only that, you'll get a ton of additional "features" throughout the operating system. That includes the Windows 11 context menu that lacks a lot of options, widgets in your taskbar, the chat icon in your taskbar, web results when searching locally on your computer, and more. You'll even get recommended news articles from MSN's home page, which a lot of people simply don't care about.

On top of that, there's some built-in telemetry that many people aren't particularly a fan of when it comes to Windows 11. Stuff like diagnostic data, activity history, app-launch tracking, and targeted ads. On top of that, you'll get tips, tricks, suggestions, and regular advertisements throughout the system. With tools like Win11Debloat, you'll get rid of everything.

Windows 11 with Win11Debloat has made it significantly more bearable

It feels so clean

Since running Win11Debloat, my Windows has felt so much nicer. There's significantly less running in the background now, and those resources can go towards other software that I'm using. I don't care to have Copilot in the background, I don't want my Start Menu looking online for news articles and other stuff when I'm trying to launch a program, and I certainly don't want advertisements built-in to my PC.

Of course, Windows is an operating system meant to cover all kinds of use cases for all kinds of people. The software that it comes with is meant to cover basically everyone, but there's bloatware that comes with it too as a result of partnerships. For the programs that I use, I have no problem installing them, rather than having them and others I don't use installed for me. There are a bunch of registry setting changes that will turn off features like lock screen tips and disable GameDVR, which for most people you don't need either.

While I certainly notice that there are fewer things everywhere, none of them are things that I actually miss. Win11Debloat is also a well-documented tool that makes it very easy to see what it disables and how, while also giving you the option to fully customize what you remove and what you don't remove. I don't have any of the useless clutter or additional apps that I never use, and I don't have popups from Microsoft Teams or OneNote on my screen.

Can you manually uninstall those applications? Absolutely! Win11Debloat is not a necessary tool in that regard, but it does make it easier to remove everything in bulk. It really opened my eyes to just how much is in Windows, as I still have a second install that I boot into that hasn't been debloated. If you want to cut down on all the unnecessary programs in your Windows install, though, then Tiny11 or Win11Debloat are definitely worth checking out. The difference is incredible.