Microsoft likes to promote its own services in Windows 10. To remove these
annoying tips, suggestions, and pop-ups, make these tweaks in the settings
menu.
Windows 10 is highly thought of, but things haven’t always gone smoothly. From
privacy concerns to buggy updates, Microsoft’s operating system has seen its
fair share of controversy. It’s surprising, then, that the company continues
to double down on its most annoying feature by keeping advertisements inside
Windows 10.
Thankfully, most of these ads have simple toggles to turn them off within
the settings menu. The steps below may not remove everything, but should
tone things down to some extent. Microsoft has a history of bringing ads to
new places and restoring "suggested" apps that have already been removed
with Windows updates.
Note that, while there are plenty of third-party tools that claim to do all
of the below (and more) in one click, they are not generally recommended.
Windows 10 "privacy" tools may seem quick and convenient, but many of
its options can depend on other settings. By using these one-size-fits-all
tools, many of which dig into the Registry, you can make it difficult to
troubleshoot why other settings don't act the way you want. You're better
off doing it yourself, so you know what to go back and tweak later if
something goes wonky.
(note: click or tap any image to enlarge)
Remove Promoted Apps From the Start Menu
The Start menu has gone through a lot of changes in Windows 10, but if
pre-installed games and other live tile clutter wasn't enough to annoy you,
Microsoft has now started including "suggestions" to lure you over to its
own apps. If you use Chrome, for example, your Start menu may badger you to
switch to the new Edge.
You can turn these off by opening
Settings > Personalization > Start and unticking the
Show Suggestions Occasionally in Start option. If you have a problem
with any of the live tiles that Windows has stuck on your Start screen, some
of which are pre-installed junk or trials, you can right-click on the one
that's bugging you, hover over the More option, and choose Turn Live Tile
Off. That way, it will merely act as a shortcut to the app. Or, if you want
to remove the app entirely, you can right-click on it to choose Uninstall.
Block Tips and Suggestions From the Lock Screen
The lock screen, sadly, is not much better. Microsoft has a knack for
picking great photos to rotate through on Bing.com and the Windows 10 lock
screen, but by default, they're cluttered up with text. Sometimes, these are
"fun facts" about the location in the image, and other times they may be
"tips" for using your device, like switching to Edge or trying to get you to
use a Microsoft account (for those who just want a local account).
To remove these suggestions and just see a photo, head to
Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen and toggle off
Get Fun Facts, Tips, and More. If you don't see this setting, you'll
have to change your lock screen wallpaper to a custom one instead of Windows
Spotlight first. You can also prevent notifications from appearing on the
lock screen from this page, and if the lock screen bugs you as a whole, you
can bypass it quicker with fingerprint or face recognition.
Banish Ads From the Taskbar and Action Center
Occasionally, you may even see pop-ups appear in your taskbar, trying to
convince you to switch to Edge or get involved with the Microsoft Rewards
program. You can get rid of these by going to
Settings > System > Notifications & Actions and unchecking
Get Tips, Tricks, and Suggestions As You Use Windows.
You may also want to untick the
Show Me the Windows Welcome Experience option here, which shows those
annoying tours after you update Windows, as well as the
Suggest Ways I Can Finish Setting Up My Device. Finally, remember
that some of the "ads" you see pop up as notifications may not be from
Microsoft, but from the manufacturer of your computer (e.g. Dell or HP). If
you're being bombarded with ads from your laptop maker, head to
Settings > System > Notifications & Actions and toggle off
any manufacturer-installed apps that may be sending them. (You could also
uninstall them entirely; just make sure they don't provide some useful
features you want, like updating certain drivers.)
Get Ads Out of File Explorer
Apparently nothing is sacred, because even File Explorer has been infected
by ads pushing Microsoft products. In its effort to get you subscribed to
OneDrive and Office 365, the company now pushes these services as you try to
browse your hard drive. You can get rid of these space-wasting suggestions
by clicking View > Options in File Explorer, then clicking the
View tab in the window that appears. Scroll down to
Show Sync Provider Notifications and uncheck that box. That should
prevent ads from showing up in File Explorer again.
Turn Off Targeted Advertising
Windows gives you an Advertising ID that it uses to track your interests and
serve you more relevant ads within apps. While you're turning off all of
Windows' built-in ads, you may want to turn this setting off as well. Head
to Settings > Privacy > General and turn off
Let Apps Use Your Advertising ID, if you want non-targeted
ads.
Credit: pcmag.com
