How to remove Taskbar Widgets icon on Windows 11

Windows 11 now shows weather information in the Taskbar, but if you don't need it, here's how to remove it.

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@Pureinfotech
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Windows 11 remove Taskbar Widgets
Windows 11 remove Taskbar Widgets
  • To remove the Widgets icon from Taskbar on Windows 11, open Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.
  • Turn off the “Widgets” toggle switch to disable the feature.
  • Once the feature is disabled, the Taskbar won’t show weather, sports, finance, or news alerts.

On Windows 11, the “Widgets” icon can show weather as well as notifications for sports, finance, and breaking news. Also, as you hover over the icon, the Widgets dashboard opens, similar to the “news and internets” widget available on Windows 10.

Although this feature might be useful for some, it’s not for everyone since it adds unnecessary distractions, and you can end up accidentally opening it as you hover over it. If you don’t want the weather or any other information it provides in the Taskbar, Windows 11 includes an option to disable the feature through the “Taskbar” settings page. Also, you can turn off the feature from the Registry or Local Group Policy Editor.

This guide will teach you the steps to enable or disable the Widgets buttons on the left side of the Taskbar on Windows 11.

Remove Widgets icon from Taskbar

If you don’t find widgets useful, you can multiple ways to disable and remove the feature from the Taskbar.

Turn off feature from Settings

To remove the Widgets (weather icon) from the Taskbar on Windows 11, use these steps:

  1. Open Settings on Windows 11.

  2. Click on Personalization.

  3. Click the Taskbar page on the right side.

  4. Under the “Taskbar items” section, turn off the Widgets toggle switch to disable the feature.

    Weather Widgets disable option

  5. (Optional) Turn on the Widgets toggle switch to enable the feature.

Once you complete the steps, the Widgets icon with the weather, sports, finance, and news information on the left side will be removed from the Taskbar. However, you can still access the Widgets dashboard using the Windows key + W keyboard shortcut.

Turn off feature from Registry 

To use the Registry to remove the Widgets icon from the Taskbar, use these steps:

Warning: It’s crucial to note that modifying the Registry can cause serious problems if not used properly. It’s assumed you know what you’re doing and that you have created a full backup of your system before proceeding.

  1. Open Start on Windows 11.

  2. Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry.

  3. Navigate to the following path:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

  4. Right-click the TaskbarDa DWORD and select the Modify option.

  5. Change the value from 1 to 0.

    Registry disable Taskbar Widgets

  6. Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, the icon will no longer be available in the Taskbar.

If you change your mind, you can undo the changes with the same instructions, but on step No. 5, change the DWORD value from 0 to 1.

Turn off feature from Group Policy

If the computer has Windows 11 Pro, Education, or Enterprise, you can use the Local Group Policy Editor to disable widgets in the Taskbar.

To use Group Policy to turn off the Widgets icon in the Taskbar, use these steps:

  1. Open Start.

  2. Search for gpedit, and click the top result to open the Local Group Policy Editor.

  3. Browse the following path:

    Computer Configuration > Administrative Template> Windows components > Widgets

  4. Double-click the “Allow widgets” policy on the right side.

    Allow widgets policy

  5. Select the Disabled option.

    Group Policy disable Taskbar Widgets

  6. Click the Apply button.

  7. Click the OK button.

After you complete the steps, widgets will no longer appear in the Windows 11 Taskbar.

You can always revert the change to re-enable User Account Control with the same instructions, but on step No. 5, change the setting to Not Configured.

About the author
Avatar for Mauro Huculak

Mauro Huculak is a Windows expert and the Editor-in-Chief who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He is also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 12 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows, software, and related technologies, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me.