Windows 11 needs a lesson on what not to include with the operating system. It's chock-full of ads and bloatware, and I have already made extensive efforts to disable the advertisement problem. Microsoft tarnished the Windows user experience so much that I've begun realizing the need for a bloatware-free operating system. I wasn't very interested in removing the mindless clutter when it began shipping with fresh installs and version updates. But slowly, the unnecessary stuff began appearing more frequently, urging me to take matters into my hands.

The operating system's rigidity in pushing Microsoft products like Copilot, Edge, and other packages makes them difficult to remove. These elements made my OS navigation difficult, wasted storage and memory, and lived as an eyesore. Let's discuss what elements I removed to make Windows 11 bloatware-free.

Copilot and AI features

Never needed AI recommendations

Copilot is Microsoft's most diabolical inclusion in Windows 11. I say this with absolute honesty because I haven't seen such an infestation since Bing web search. Copilot debuted as a sidebar that could perform common tasks and serve as a chatbot. But Microsoft didn't stop at that and added it to many native apps like Edge, Paint, and more. It became an eyesore on the taskbar, and I couldn't bear it.

I used Win11debloat to get rid of Copilot and related AI features in one go. It's a simple, powerful PowerShell script that helped me achieve a lean Windows 11 PC system without much effort. The tool lists all the native apps and components you can remove, with a special focus on the AI bits.

The option “Disable AI features” doesn't just remove Copilot, but also weeds out hidden stuff like Click to do and Windows recall and uproots them from native apps. Most of these services work better where there's a dedicated NPU present inside the system. My laptop is slightly old and lacks an NPU processor, so I can install this crapware without giving it a second thought.

Microsoft Bing

Slows down the search experience

Before Copilot, Microsoft Bing was the biggest reason to use a bloatware removal program. Bing integrates with almost all native apps. Whenever you right-click on an app, the web search or visual search with Bing always pops up. I don't mind that too much. Whenever I try to use Windows search, it covers most of the screen with mindless recommendations.

While it's possible to hide the ads to some extent, I took a more serious step and removed the entire component with the Win11debloat script. The difference is night and day because my PC doesn't need to fetch web suggestions or queries when I want to search for something.

I want any application or file finder program to put more effort into finding files than web searches. On Linux, this is never a problem, but Windows 11 decided to club local search and web search together. It can recommend store apps via it, along with feed content from MSN.

Microsoft Edge

Not my favorite browser

Contrary to anyone's opinion, I don't get the appeal for Edge, if there's any. I installed Chrome and forgot about Edge on all my Windows 11 machines. But Microsoft is there to remind me that there's an alternative I must try. There isn't anything subtle about it, as most of my links or files redirect to Edge.

It's frustrating to launch an unknown browser UI, and they jostle with it for viewing PDFs or URLs. Microsoft doesn't offer an uninstallation option for Edge as it does for most of the system apps. So, I use the debloating utility to permanently remove it from my system.

We sadly don't get the same privilege, but the tool offers some help. First, it tries uninstalling it in the normal way, but then resorts to Winget, Microsoft's native package manager, to remove the nagging browser.

Start experience app

Recommendations in the widget board

Ending classic widgets wasn't a great idea, and the new widget board doesn't ease the pain. You can pin system widgets, but the feed is a pain to deal with. The Start Experience app powers the feed and doesn't have an uninstall option when you check the settings app.

However, it cannot escape from the clutches of the debloating utility that can effectively purge it from my system. After that, the widgets board becomes an empty playground for you to arrange and pin your favorite widgets.

Bonus perks

Removing telemetry, tracking, and disabling useless features

Since I was interested in a lightweight system, barely removing a few apps wouldn't bring the peace I wanted. I took a step further and disabled all useless services, telemetry collection, and suggestions appearing in multiple corners, like the Start menu, File Explorer, lock screen, and more.

I also don't use the Game Bar or any Xbox services, so I checked those boxes while finalizing the elements to discard. After applying the changes, I found a sharp reduction in distractions.

The Start Menu and taskbar felt clean, while the search experience was more responsive. There weren't any delays in loading search results, and even File Explorer stopped showing recommendations.

Debloating Windows 11 is necessary

The fact that debloating utilities exist and are popular tells you how bad Microsoft's past few decisions have been. Piling useless apps, suggestions, and recommendations, and integrating AI features with a complicated removal process forces users to fix the OS themselves.

Win11debloat script can help you with removing bloatware, stopping background processes, and disabling all the settings that send data somewhere or inject ads into your feed. It’s much better than running individual PowerShell commands to remove the packages and change settings.