Staring at the exact same desktop background every single day can become incredibly monotonous. While you could manually search the internet, download a dozen high-resolution nature photographs, and set up a custom rotating slideshow folder, Windows 11 actually has a much better, fully automated solution built directly into the operating system. It is called Windows Spotlight.
What is Windows Spotlight?
If you have ever noticed the beautiful, high-quality landscape photographs that occasionally appear on your Windows 11 lock screen before you type in your password, that is Windows Spotlight. Microsoft curates these images from the Bing search engine. By changing one setting, you can pull that exact same daily rotating feed of professional photography directly onto your main desktop wallpaper.
How to Enable Windows Spotlight
Activating this feature takes less than a minute.
- Right-click anywhere on an empty space on your desktop wallpaper.
- Select Personalize from the context menu. This will open the Settings app directly to the correct page.
- Click on Background.
- Look for the dropdown menu labeled Personalize your background (it is likely currently set to “Picture” or “Solid color”).
- Click the dropdown menu and select Windows spotlight.
The change is instantaneous. Your desktop wallpaper will immediately change to the featured photograph of the day.
How to Control the Daily Images
When you enable Windows Spotlight, a small, subtle icon that looks like a camera will appear in the top-right corner of your desktop (you can drag this icon anywhere you want). This is your control panel.
- Don’t like the current picture? Right-click the camera icon and select “Switch to next picture.” Microsoft will instantly download and apply a new photograph.
- Want to know where the photo was taken? Hover your mouse over the camera icon. A small tooltip will appear, detailing the real-world location of the landscape (e.g., “Banff National Park, Canada”).
As long as your computer is connected to the internet, Windows will quietly download a fresh, beautiful new wallpaper for you to enjoy every single morning.