The Distracting Dashboard
Windows 11 introduced the Widgets Board, a dedicated panel (accessible via a taskbar button or by swiping from the left edge of a touchscreen) designed to show you at-a-glance information like weather, stock prices, and sports scores. However, Microsoft heavily populates this board with its MSN news feed, filling it with algorithmic articles, celebrity gossip, and clickbait. For professionals trying to maintain a focused work environment, having a distracting news feed constantly accessible—and occasionally badging the taskbar icon with breaking news alerts—is a significant detriment to productivity and system performance.
Eradicating the Widgets Board
To eliminate this distraction and completely disable the Widgets Board in Windows 11, you must use the Local Group Policy Editor (for Windows Pro/Enterprise) or the Registry Editor (for Windows Home), as the standard settings only allow you to hide the icon, not stop the background process.
If you are on Windows 11 Pro, press the Windows Key, type gpedit.msc, and hit Enter. In the left pane, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets. On the right side, double-click on Allow widgets. In the new window, select the Disabled radio button. Click Apply and OK. Restart your computer. If you are on Windows 11 Home, you must use the Registry. Press the Windows Key, type regedit, and hit Enter. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft. Right-click the Microsoft folder, select New > Key, and name it Dsh. Click the new Dsh key. On the right side, right-click and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it AllowNewsAndInterests. Double-click it and ensure the “Value data” is set to 0. Restart your PC to permanently disable the Widgets system.