Screen savers are a relic of the CRT monitor era, originally designed to prevent static images from “burning” into the phosphor coating of older screens. Today, modern LCD and OLED monitors do not suffer from burn-in in the same way, making traditional moving screen savers largely obsolete. Instead of displaying flying toasters or bouncing logos when your PC is idle, it is far more energy-efficient and secure to simply let your monitor turn off or put the computer to sleep. If Windows 11 is still activating a screen saver when you step away from your desk, you can disable it entirely.
How to Disable the Screen Saver
The screen saver options in Windows 11 are still housed within a legacy Control Panel menu, accessible through the Personalization settings.
- Open the Settings app (press the Windows Key + I).
- In the left-hand sidebar menu, click on Personalization.
- Scroll down the main window and click on Lock screen.
- Scroll to the very bottom of the Lock screen settings page and click on Screen saver.
- A legacy “Screen Saver Settings” dialogue box will appear on your desktop.
- Look for the drop-down menu under the word “Screen saver.”
- Click the drop-down menu and select (None) from the top of the list.
- Click Apply, then click OK to close the window.
Windows 11 will no longer launch a screen saver. If you want to save power when your PC is idle, return to the main Settings app and navigate to System > Power & battery to configure when your screen should automatically turn off instead.