Key Takeaways
- Privacy concerns abound – debloat Windows 11 to stop apps from tracking your information.
- Improve performance by removing unnecessary pre-installed apps that use up resources.
- Customize your Windows 11 experience with options like Tiny11 for quicker VM testing and user choice.
We’ve written at length about the various ways you can debloat Windows 11, whether it’s by using dedicated software to remove certain features or using a custom ISO like Tiny11.
Truth is, as much as I like Windows 11, there’s a lot of stuff in it that I and many other users don’t care about or simply don’t want. But why is that? Well, there are a few reasons, so let’s break down why you might want to debloat Windows 11.
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How to debloat Windows 11
Windows computers notoriously come with too much junk. To get Windows running at peak performance, you should eliminate unnecessary programs
Privacy
Who wants all these features tracking your info?
A lot of the unnecessary features in Windows 11 may not necessarily be privacy threats, but some of them might have access to your info, whether it’s location or information about your PC usage. Sometimes this information can be used for advertising, or it may be essential for syncing information across devices. A great example would be the upcoming Recall feature in Copilot+, which takes snapshots of everything you do.
Using a debloat tool like Win11Debloat is can disable or remove some of these features so you no longer have to worry about your information being tracked. While this information probably isn’t used for nefarious purposes, some users just don’t like Microsoft knowing this kind of information, and that’s a valid reason.
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Performance
All those built-in apps and features can use up resources
Another great reason to debloat Windows 11 is improving the performance of your PC. With plenty of apps pre-installed out of the box, plus features like Widgets and Copilot, Windows 11 has a lot of things running in the background that can use up resources that could be better used elsewhere. That includes storage, too, with custom ISOs like Tiny11 showing how much smaller a Windows installation can be without all those preinstalled apps.
Of course, if you have a high-end computer, the difference these preinstalled apps probably isn’t noticeable, but if you have a lower-end machine, it can make a big difference. Microsoft even has a special version of Windows 11 for ultra-low-end devices like the Surface Laptop SE, so even the company acknowledges there’s room to cut back.
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Tiny11 hands-on: How much lighter is Windows 11 without the extra bloat?
Have you ever wondered how much Microsoft apps and services bog down Windows 11? Tiny11 shows us what it’s like when it’s all stripped out.
Quick testing in a VM
Custom ISOs can be helpful
This reason in particular only applies to custom ISOs like Tiny11, and specifically something like Tiny11 Core, which doesn’t even support Windows Update. This tiny Windows 11 package is excellent for quickly testing software in a virtual machine thanks to its extra small size. It makes for a smaller installation file, but it also means the VM’s hard drive itself can be smaller, so you can have more virtual machines in the same host, for example.
What’s more, the smaller installation size means you can get the VM up and running more quickly since there are fewer files to install and fewer steps to go through during the installation process.
Making the experience your own
No matter what, user choice should be paramount
Ultimately, what debloating Windows 11 really comes down to in my opinion is giving users more choice. Regardless of whether there are actual privacy implications oro performance gains to be had, all the apps and features built into Windows 11 should be optional and easy to disable. You can say that for any feature on any operating system, really.
If nothing else, removing all the junk in Windows 11 means you can use your PC the way you want to, and that’s extremely important even disregarding any other context. Why should the Start menu have a Recommended section instead of only the apps we want? Why should we be forced to use Edge at all? Freedom of choice alone is a good enough reason to debloat Windows 11.
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You have options when it comes to debloating
No matter which of these reasons is the one you care about the most, you thankfully have a few options for debloating Windows 11. You can use a program like Win11Debloat to remove unnecessary features and apps after the fact, or you can get a custom ISO like Tiny11 if you want to have a smaller install right out of the gate. If you’re confident (and very patient), you can even create your own custom ISO.
All of these give you options to make your Windows 11 experience what you want it to be without all the things Microsoft wants to force on you.