What is bloatware on Windows 11?

Bloatware is software preinstalled on a PC that you didn't choose and mostly don't use — manufacturer utilities, trial antivirus, promotional games, and duplicate media or productivity apps. It matters mainly when it runs in the background or launches at startup, consuming memory and slowing boot times.

Is it safe to remove bloatware from Windows 11?

Removing manufacturer trial software, promotional apps and games is safe. Be careful with driver and firmware utilities from your PC maker, which often manage hardware features like power profiles, function keys or fan control. And never remove core Windows components such as Microsoft Store, Security, Edge WebView2 or .NET runtimes — those break other software.

How do I remove preinstalled apps that have no uninstall option?

Some in-box Windows apps grey out the uninstall option in Settings. You can usually remove them with a PowerShell Remove-AppxPackage command run as administrator, though this is a step for confident users. A safer alternative for most people is simply disabling the app's startup entry, which removes the performance cost without touching the app itself.

Does removing bloatware actually speed up my PC?

It depends entirely on whether the software runs. Removing programs that launch at startup or run background services produces a genuine improvement in boot time and available memory. Removing apps that sit idle and never launch frees disk space but won't make the machine faster. Focus on what's in Task Manager's Startup tab.

Should I factory reset instead of removing bloatware individually?

A clean Windows 11 install via Settings › System › Recovery › Reset this PC, choosing to remove everything and using the cloud download option, gives you Windows without the manufacturer's additions. It's the most thorough route, but it also removes your files and applications, so it's best for a new machine you haven't set up yet.

How to Remove Bloatware from Windows 11 (2026): A Safe, Step-by-Step Guide

A new Windows 11 laptop rarely arrives clean. Between the manufacturer's utilities, trial antivirus, promotional games and duplicate apps, a machine can ship with dozens of programs you never asked for — several of which start with Windows and sit in memory permanently.

The catch is that not everything preinstalled is junk, and removing the wrong thing breaks hardware features. Here's how to clear it safely.

First: what's actually costing you anything

Before uninstalling anything, find out what's running. This is the step most guides skip, and it's the one that determines whether any of this makes a difference.

Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc).
Click the Startup apps tab.
Sort by Startup impact.

Anything marked High that you don't recognise or use is your real target. An app that never launches costs you disk space and nothing else; an app that starts with Windows costs you memory and boot time every single day.

This is the honest version of "debloating": removing idle apps frees storage, but removing startup programs is what actually makes a PC feel faster.

Safe to remove

Generally safe on any machine:

Trial antivirus (McAfee, Norton trials preloaded by the manufacturer) — but install a replacement first; don't leave the machine unprotected. See best antivirus software.
Promotional games and app shortcuts — Candy Crush-style installs and "recommended" apps.
Manufacturer media players, photo apps and "shopping" or "deals" utilities — near-universally duplicates of better software.
Trial productivity suites you don't plan to buy.
Duplicate Microsoft apps you don't use, such as unused Office web launchers.

Be careful with these

Manufacturer utilities are a mixed bag. Some are genuine bloat; others control hardware:

Driver and update utilities (Lenovo Vantage, Dell Update, HP Support Assistant, MyASUS) — these often manage power profiles, battery limits, function keys, fan curves and firmware updates. Removing them can cost you real functionality. If you don't want them running constantly, disable their startup entry rather than uninstalling.
Audio utilities (Dolby, Realtek, Waves MaxxAudio) — usually tied to your actual sound configuration. Removing them can degrade audio quality.
Touchpad, pen and graphics control panels — these expose settings Windows doesn't.

A good default: disable the startup entry first, use the machine for a week, and only uninstall if you never miss it.

Never remove these

These look like clutter and aren't. Removing them breaks other software:

Microsoft Store — needed for app installs and updates
Windows Security — your built-in protection
Microsoft Edge WebView2 — many desktop apps render their interface with it
.NET runtimes and Visual C++ Redistributables — required by countless programs
Anything from your PC maker labelled driver, chipset or firmware

Method 1: Settings (the normal route)

Windows + I → Apps → Installed apps
Sort by Size or Name, find the program
Click the three dots → Uninstall

Work through the safe list above. If a program refuses to uninstall or errors out, our complete uninstall guide covers reboot, Safe Mode and forced removal in order.

Method 2: Disable startup instead of uninstalling

For anything on the "be careful" list, this gets you the performance benefit with none of the risk:

Task Manager → Startup apps
Right-click the entry → Disable

The software stays installed, so hardware features keep working — it just no longer loads at boot. This is the right move for most manufacturer utilities, and it's fully reversible.

Method 3: PowerShell for apps with no uninstall button

Some in-box apps grey out the Uninstall option. You can remove them with PowerShell, though this is for confident users:

Right-click Start → Terminal (Admin)
List installed packages: Get-AppxPackage | Select Name, PackageFullName
Remove one: Get-AppxPackage *packagename* | Remove-AppxPackage

Only remove packages you can positively identify. If you're unsure, don't — disabling startup (Method 2) gets you most of the benefit with none of the risk of breaking something.

Method 4: The clean-install option

The most thorough route is to remove the manufacturer's image entirely: Settings › System › Recovery › Reset this PC, choose Remove everything, and select Cloud download to pull a clean copy of Windows from Microsoft rather than the manufacturer's preloaded partition.

This wipes your files and applications, so it suits a brand-new machine you haven't set up yet. On a PC you already use, work through Methods 1–3 instead.

After the cleanup

Once the startup list is trimmed, the remaining slowdowns on a modern PC are usually stale drivers, accumulated junk files, and software left behind by incomplete uninstalls — not fragmentation, and not the few megabytes of leftovers cleanup tools like to advertise.

If you'd rather handle those in one pass than chase them manually, IObit's new-user bundle covers all three — Advanced SystemCare for junk and startup management, Driver Booster for drivers, and Uninstaller for leftover software (up to 91% off, coupon OnlinesafetyC35).

Prefer to compare first? See best Windows PC cleanup & driver tools and our honest IObit review, which is candid about what these tools can and can't do.