The Silent Resource Drain
Windows 11 is designed to keep certain applications running in the background even when you are not actively using them. This allows apps like Mail, Calendar, or Microsoft Teams to fetch new data, receive notifications, and keep themselves updated. However, allowing dozens of apps to silently run processes in the background consumes RAM, CPU cycles, and crucially, battery life on laptops. If you are experiencing performance issues on an older machine, or if you simply want maximum battery longevity, you may want to prevent these apps from running when minimized or closed.
Revoking Background Privileges
While you can disable background permissions for individual apps one by one, there is a hidden configuration in the Group Policy Editor that allows you to globally block all Microsoft Store apps from running in the background with a single switch.
Press the Windows Key, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter to open the Local Group Policy Editor (Note: This requires Windows 11 Pro). In the left pane, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > App Privacy. In the right pane, scroll down and double-click the policy named Let Windows apps run in the background. In the configuration window that opens, set the policy to Enabled. This seems counter-intuitive, but it activates the control options. Look below in the “Options” section for a dropdown menu titled “Default for all apps.” Click this dropdown and select Force Deny. Click OK and restart your computer. Windows will now strictly prevent all standard apps from executing background tasks, freeing up system resources.