De-Enshittify an Existing Install of Windows 11 ⭐

Note: This is an early peek at a chapter from my next book, De-Enshittify Windows 11. This book will be available for purchase soon, hopefully by the end of February.  –Paul

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If you want to de-enshittify Windows 11 but find starting over from scratch to be daunting, then this chapter is for you. Here, you will learn how to thoroughly clean any existing Windows 11 installation, automatically removing bad behaviors like telemetry, preinstalled crapware, and even major enshittification vectors like Microsoft Edge and OneDrive, if desired.

As with the clean install approach to de-enshittifying Windows 11, the tool you will use to achieve this is free. But unlike the Tiny11 Builder utility described in that chapter, the tool I document in this chapter, called Win11Debloat, is flexible and granular, so you can eliminate the parts of Windows 11 that you despise while retaining those you value.

Tools that de-enshittify Windows predate the term enshittification by decades, and you may be familiar with some that sought to “clean” or “debloat” Windows over the years. These tools were often designed to strip Windows down so that it could run on lower-end or older PCs with less RAM and storage or allow more configuration options than Microsoft provided in the product itself. Today’s de-enshittification tools work similarly, but the emphasis has shifted to include removing behaviors that are objectively bad for users. Of course, these tools also let you clean and trim down the size of Windows 11 if that’s your goal.

As you might imagine, there are many options out there. But rather than offer a rundown of some of the better tools, I am instead focusing on a single tool because it meets all the de-enshittification needs one might have and it works very well.

? De-Enshittify Windows 11 with Win11Debloat

Like Tiny11 Builder, Win11Debloat is a PowerShell script that you can execute remotely from Windows 11. But once Win11Debloat runs, it uses a friendly graphical interface by default, making it more approachable to mainstream users.

To get started, navigate to the Win11Debloat page on GitHub with your web browser and scroll down to the “Quick method” instructions under “Usage.” Per those instructions, open a Terminal window with administrator privileges and run the following script:

& ([scriptblock]::Create((irm “https://debloat.raphi.re/“)))

The script will download the app and, after a User Account Control (UAC) dialog, Win11Debloat appears.

Win11Debloat is deceptively simple, consisting of just three main screens. But there are many dozens of options across those screens, and it’s important to pay attention and choose wisely. From a high-level perspective, Win11Debloat helps you to:

• Uninstall apps, including apps like Microsoft Edge that are normally impossible to uninstall
• Configure many individual Windows 11 features, including some, like forced telemetry, that are normally impossible to disable
• Determine if the changes are made to the current user only or all users on the PC

OK, let’s get started. Literally: Click “Start.”

App Removal

In this first step, you determine which apps to uninstall. It’s not clear why this view doesn’t show you only those apps that are installed, so change “Only show installed apps” to “On” before proceeding.

With two possible exceptions—Microsoft Edge, especially, and OneDrive—none of the apps that Microsoft bundles in Windows 11 are truly enshittified. But you will find crapware and superfluous apps from both Microsoft and your PC maker. And it’s worth at least examining this list to see whether there are apps you wish to uninstall, all in a single pass.

⚠️ Warning: Do NOT remove the Microsoft Store app even if you think you will never use it. This is the only app that cannot be reinstalled easily if removed, and it’s used to keep in-box (and Store) apps up-to-date.

I recommend considering uninstalling the following unless you’re sure you need them or will use them in some way.

• Enshittified apps and other potential problems. These include Microsoft Edge, OneDrive, Office Hub (which is really Microsoft 365 Copilot), and Widgets Experience.
• Superfluous, low quality in-box apps. Bing News, Bing Search, Dev Home, Microsoft Journal, Power Automate, Solitaire Collection, and Whiteboard are among these choices.
• Some apps from your PC maker. If you see McAfee in there, any PC maker AI chatbot app, or other nonsense, they deserve to be removed.

When you’re ready to move on, click “Next.”

System Tweaks

Given the sheer volume of choices here, it’s likely that you will have to spend a lot of time considering these options. But if you all you care about is enshittification, then that winnows down the list nicely.

To remove the objectively enshittified behaviors in Windows 11, configure each of the following options:

In Privacy & Suggested Content:

• Disable telemetry, tracking & targeted ads
• Disable tips, tricks & suggested content throughout Windows
• Disable tips & tricks on the lock screen
• Disable ads, suggestions and newsfeed in Edge
• Hide Microsoft 365 ads in Settings Home

In AI:

• Disable Microsoft Copilot
• Disable Al features in Microsoft Edge

In Windows Update:

• Prevent automatic restarts after updates while signed in
• Disable sharing downloaded updates with other PCs

In Start menu:

• Disable Bing web search & Copilot integration

And that’s it, at least for the enshittification. But if you see other behaviors you don’t like in there, disable them as well before moving on.

When you’re ready, click “Next.”

Overview

The Overview screen lets you review the choices you made, but it also provides four very important options.

They are:

• Apply changes to. By default, the “system tweak” changes you are making will apply to the current user only, but you can optionally have them apply to all users configured on the PC.
• Remove apps from. By default, the apps you are removing will apply to all users configured on the PC. But you can optionally have them removed only for the current user.
• Create a system restore point. You definitely want to create a restore point: If something goes wrong, you can restore from that restore point and go back to your previous configuration.
• Restart Windows Explorer. If you’re making any changes to File Explorer, you should check this option so that those changes will occur immediately.

Click “Apply Changes.” Win11Debloat will now do its thing, and you can see that occur in a command line as it does so. Eventually, you will be told that “all changes have been applied” and advised to scan through the command line output to see whether there were any issues.

? Use Win11Debloat effectively

Before moving on, here are some additional points about this process.

Update apps before using Win11Debloat

⛔ The problem: The Microsoft Store just reinstalled an app I removed with Win11Debloat.

? The solution: This may seem illogical, but if you want to run Win11Debloat after performing a clean install or reset of Windows 11, you should use the Microsoft Store to update all the in-box apps first. Otherwise, you may find that the Store app silently reinstalls some of the apps you removed when it finally gets around to updating. So get everything up-to-date first, and then remove the apps you don’t want using Win11Debloat.

Win11Debloat doesn’t “see” all the apps I want to remove

⛔ The problem: After using Win11Debloat, you may notice that there are still crapware and superfluous apps in the Start menu.

? The solution: Win11Debloat is terrific, but it will sometimes miss the occasional app. If this happens, just uninstall the app normally from Start by right-clicking it and choosing “Uninstall.”

Microsoft Edge doesn’t want to be removed

⛔ The problem: Microsoft Edge is a bit trickier to uninstall than other apps and requires an additional step.

? The solution: Perhaps because of its deep integrations with Windows 11, Microsoft Edge removal fails on the first pass and then Win11Debloat prompts to you “forcefully uninstall it.” This process is “NOT RECOMMENDED,” the app adds, but I disagree: This removal method has always worked properly in my experience. And besides, you made a restore point, right?

➡️ Learn more: If you do remove Microsoft Edge, you will need to download another web browser, configure it as the default web browser in Windows 11, and use a free third-party utility to force Windows 11 to always use this browser. This is all explained in the De-Enshittify Microsoft Edge chapter.

Some apps require Microsoft Edge

⛔ The problem: I used Win11Debloat to remove Microsoft Edge and I later saw that it had somehow reinstalled itself.

? The solution: Some of the in-box apps in Windows 11 and third party apps are web apps that require the Microsoft Edge runtime. For this reason, you may inadvertently reinstall Microsoft Edge if you later install an app from the Microsoft Store or elsewhere. If this happens, try installing the Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime and then use Win11Debloat to remove the Microsoft Edge app again.

The changes that Win11Debloat makes are all reversible

⛔ The problem: I made a mistake and want to revert a change that was made with Win11Debloat.

? The solution: As the developer of Win11Debloat explains, all the changes this apps makes to Windows 11 can be easily reversed. Likewise, almost all the apps you remove with Win11Debloat can be reinstalled through the Microsoft Store or by using the Windows Package Manager (winget). The only major exception is the Microsoft Store app itself. Again, do not uninstall Store.

ℹ️ More info: You can learn how to revert any of the changes you made with Win11Debloat on the app’s website.

Take your time with Win11Debloat

⛔ The problem: There are so many options in Win11Debloat that I’m not sure where to start.

? The solution: You don’t have to make all your configuration and app removal changes at the same time. Go slow, make a few changes to see how Win11Debloat works and gain some confidence in the process. You can simply re-run Win11Debloat again and again as needed.

What about the future?

⛔ The problem: I’m worried that Windows 11 will simply overturn a change that I made with Win11Debloat.

? The solution: One of the (many) concerns with Windows 11 is that Microsoft may in the future install an annual feature update or a monthly “security” update that alters your configuration and reverts features to the default configuration, ignoring the changes you made manually or with a tool like Win11Default. I am actively seeking a tool that will monitor for these types of changes, but for now, you can always re-run Win11Debloat if you notice any unwanted changes.