How to Completely Disable ‘Suggested Content’ (Lock Screen Ads) in Windows 11

Windows 11 features a highly dynamic Lock Screen that cycles through beautiful, high-resolution photography. However, Microsoft uses this premium real estate not just to show you pretty pictures, but to inject what they euphemistically call “fun facts, tips, tricks, and more” directly onto your screen. In reality, this “suggested content” is frequently used to serve advertisements for Microsoft Edge, Xbox Game Pass, OneDrive storage upgrades, and third-party software.

For enterprise environments, office workstations, or users who simply want a clean, professional computer, these lock screen advertisements are entirely unacceptable. Having your computer pitch a subscription service to you before you have even typed in your password makes the operating system feel like cheap adware. If you want a perfectly clean, static lock screen that only shows the time and your chosen wallpaper, you must completely disable the suggested content injection.

Disabling Lock Screen Ads via Personalization Settings

You can turn off these injected tips and ads directly from the Windows Personalization menu, provided you configure your lock screen background correctly.

1. Click the Start button and select the Settings gear icon (or press Windows Key + i).
2. In the left-hand navigation sidebar, click on Personalization.
3. In the main panel, click on Lock screen.
4. Look at the top dropdown menu labelled Personalize your lock screen.
5. By default, this is set to “Windows spotlight” (which streams images from Bing). You cannot disable ads if you use Windows Spotlight. You must click the dropdown and change it to either Picture or Slideshow.
6. Once you have selected “Picture” or “Slideshow,” a new checkbox will magically appear just below the background selection area.
7. Look for the checkbox labelled Get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more on your lock screen.
8. Click the checkbox to completely uncheck it.

The change is immediate. Press Windows Key + L to lock your computer. You will see your chosen picture or slideshow, the time, and the date. The screen will be completely devoid of any hovering text boxes, Edge browser advertisements, or unsolicited “fun facts,” returning your lock screen to a purely professional state.