How to Turn Off Ads in Windows 11 With 7 Built-In Settings

Windows 11 keeps showing ads in places you can’t easily switch off: “fun facts” on the lock screen, suggested apps in Start, OneDrive pitches in File Explorer, promo cards in Settings, sponsored stories in Widgets, and sponsored tiles in Edge. There is no single master switch, but seven groups of built-in settings turn off most of it, usually without admin rights or third-party tools.

If a path doesn’t match your PC, type the setting’s name into the Settings search box. Microsoft moves these toggles between feature updates.

Version note: These steps follow the setting names Microsoft Support documents for Windows 11 24H2, 25H2, and 26H2, checked in October 2026. Microsoft rolls some controls out gradually, so the Widgets, Start, and Edge options in particular can be labeled differently or missing on your PC.

Windows 11 doesn’t show banner ads like a website. It puts promotions inside features that also do useful things. Spotlight shows a wallpaper and a tip. Start shows your recent files and a suggested app. Each feature owns its own switch, so one master toggle would also break the useful parts.

Microsoft also moves these controls around. Its own support pages describe two layouts. Some builds have a Recommendations & offers page under Privacy & security. Others keep the same controls under Privacy & security > General (Microsoft Support: Recommendations & offers; Microsoft Support: General privacy settings, both retrieved October 6, 2026). Each fix below lists the keyword to search if your menu looks different.

This guide covers the main built-in ad surfaces. Promotions that come from individual apps, such as Microsoft Store or OneDrive app notifications and Microsoft 365 subscription prompts, are controlled per app under Settings > System > Notifications or inside the app itself.

Work laptop? If a toggle is grayed out with “Some of these settings are managed by your organization,” your IT department controls it. You can’t change it from your account. Ask IT instead.

Most of these are per-user settings. If several people share the PC, each person needs to repeat the steps while signed in to their own account.

The lock screen is the first ad surface you see. Microsoft says Spotlight “displays a rotating set of images from Microsoft, along with tips, tricks, and notifications” (Microsoft Support: Customize the lock screen, retrieved October 8, 2026).

Expected result: Press Win + L. Your lock screen should show a static photo with only the clock and date, and no text overlay.

Tip: If you use Spotlight as your desktop background (Personalization > Background), a “Learn about this picture” icon appears on the desktop. Switch Personalize your background to Picture to remove it.

If the path has moved: search Settings for “lock screen”.

Start’s Recommended section mixes your recent files with suggested apps and Microsoft Store promotions. Some builds also show account prompts, such as nudges to back up your files or finish setting up your Microsoft account.

Expected result: Suggested apps and promotional tiles are gone from Start. On some builds the Recommended area stays visible but empty. If so, choose the More pins layout on the same Settings page to shrink it. Newer Start menu designs can hide the section completely once every toggle is off.

If the path has moved: search Settings for “recommendations” or “Start settings”.

File Explorer shows banners above your files, such as reminders to back up to OneDrive or try Microsoft 365 storage plans. Windows calls these “sync provider notifications.”

Expected result: The banners above your file list stop appearing. Close and reopen File Explorer if one is still visible.

This checkbox only affects File Explorer. It doesn’t stop OneDrive from syncing, and it doesn’t silence prompts from the OneDrive app itself. If you’d rather keep backups on an external SSD instead, you can also turn off folder backup in the OneDrive app’s settings.

The Settings home page can show cards that promote Microsoft services, such as Microsoft 365 or Game Pass, depending on your account and build. Separately, Windows shows “welcome” screens and setup nags after updates. Both are covered here because they live next to each other.

Expected result: Suggested content inside the Settings app should go away. This toggle doesn’t clear the whole Home page: account, subscription, and storage cards can stay because they’re tied to your account rather than to this setting.

Expected result: The full-screen “Let’s finish setting up your device” prompts and tip pop-ups should stop. Microsoft documents the welcome and tips controls in its Notifications and Do Not Disturb article (retrieved October 6, 2026).

If the path has moved: search Settings for “suggested content”, “offers”, or “tips”.

The widgets board, opened from the weather icon on the left of the taskbar, includes a news feed with sponsored stories. The taskbar icon also flashes headlines and alert badges.

On some newer builds the feed and taskbar alerts are already off by default. Microsoft began testing quieter Widgets defaults with Windows Insiders in 2026 (Windows Latest), so skip any control you don’t see.

Expected result: The board shows only the widgets you pinned, such as weather or calendar, without sponsored stories.

Expected result: The weather icon is gone. Win + W may still open the board.

Widget labels change more often than any other area. If you can’t find the feed toggle, use Option B.

This fix doesn’t remove an ad surface. It stops Windows and apps from personalizing ads with your activity. Microsoft states that turning off the advertising ID won’t reduce how many ads you see, only how targeted they are (Microsoft Support, retrieved October 6, 2026). That’s why you need Fixes #1–5 and #7 to actually remove the ads.

On Windows 11 builds with a Recommendations & offers page:

Microsoft lists these toggles on its Recommendations & offers support page.

On older Windows 11 builds with only a General page:

Expected result: Every toggle you changed shows Off. Nothing changes visibly right away, because this affects targeting behind the scenes.

If the path has moved: search Settings for “advertising ID”, “personalized offers”, or “tailored”.

Edge is the default browser, so its new tab page is often the first place a new Windows 11 user sees ads. It shows sponsored quick-link tiles and a news feed with paid stories. These settings live inside Edge and don’t follow your Windows settings.

Expected result: New tabs open with a search box and only the quick links you added, without sponsored tiles or news headlines.

Edge has more tracking and shopping settings under edge://settings if you want to go further.

To return to any of these pages quickly, press Win + R and use the shortcuts listed in the fixes above (ms-settings:lockscreen, ms-settings:personalization-start, ms-settings:notifications, ms-settings:privacy-general, ms-settings:taskbar).

Why it happens: Microsoft keeps reorganizing these pages. Some builds show Recommendations & offers under Privacy & security, while others keep the same switches under General. Microsoft documents both layouts.

Fix: Click the search box at the top-left of Settings and type a keyword such as “advertising ID”, “suggested content”, “recommendations”, “tips”, or “sync provider”. The search results point to the current location.

Why it happens: Some options depend on your Windows edition, feature update, region, or whether you sign in with a Microsoft account. Show account-related notifications is the most common example.

Fix: Skip it. A missing toggle means that feature doesn’t apply to your account.

Why it happens: The advertising ID controls targeting, not volume. Microsoft says so directly.

Fix: Work through the location-specific fixes (#1–5 and #7). Those remove the actual ad surfaces.

Why it happens: Edge has its own settings, separate from Windows.

Fix: Use the gear icon on the new tab page (Fix #7). If you sign in to Edge on several PCs, check each one, because sync doesn’t always carry new-tab layout settings across devices.

Why it happens: Feature updates can re-enable the boxes under System > Notifications > Additional settings.

Fix: Recheck that section after every major update.

Why it happens: Your organization manages the PC through policy. IT departments use the Experience policy CSP and related controls documented on Microsoft Learn (both retrieved October 6, 2026) to lock these settings.

Fix: Ask your IT team. Policy overrides your personal settings.

Expand allCollapse allWill these changes come back after a Windows update?Most stay put. Monthly security updates rarely touch them.

Feature updates are different, because they can reset some toggles or add new promo surfaces with new switches. Rerun the Quick Answer checklist after each feature update.

Is there a single master switch to turn off all Windows 11 ads?No. Each feature has its own switch, which is why you need all seven fixes. Enterprise and Education editions can use IT policies to block consumer content more broadly, but on Home and Pro the per-feature toggles are the supported method. Third-party “debloat” tools change many settings at once, including registry tweaks that are hard to undo, and they can break features you actually use.

Does disabling these settings affect Windows security notifications?No. Windows Security alerts (virus detections, firewall warnings, and similar) are controlled separately in Windows Security > Settings > Manage notifications. Windows Update restart prompts also still appear. None of the toggles above silence them.

Why do ads still show up after I turned off the advertising ID?The advertising ID only controls personalization. Microsoft says turning it off doesn’t reduce the number of ads you see. To remove the ads themselves, use Fixes #1–5 and #7.

Where did “Recommendations & offers” or “Privacy & security > General” go on my PC?It depends on your build. Newer installs group these toggles under Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers.

Others still list them under Privacy & security > General. Search Settings for “advertising ID” or “suggested content” to find the right page.

Didn't find your answer? Search our guides.

Wrapping Up Start with the Start menu (Fix #2) and the Settings and notification toggles (Fix #4), because those cover the promotions you see most often in daily use. Then work through the rest when you have time. Keep this checklist handy, because the next feature update may add an eighth. If pop-ups keep appearing outside these places, such as full-screen browser windows claiming your PC is infected or ads on the desktop from an app you don’t recognize, that’s adware. Run a full scan in Windows Security right away.

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