Microsoft's annual Windows 11 refresh — 25H2 (build 26200.7019) — brings only modest core changes but continues a trend many users find frustrating: deeper integration of Microsoft services, AI features, and default settings that promote sign‑ins and recommendations. If you just installed 25H2 or are upgrading from Windows 10, there are a handful of straightforward steps and a few advanced tweaks you can use to get a cleaner, quieter desktop without breaking the system.

Why clean up 25H2?

Windows 11 now nudges users toward Microsoft accounts, OneDrive, Copilot and other AI-driven features by default. For many people that’s convenient; for others it feels intrusive, noisy or unnecessary. The advice below combines guidance from detailed walkthroughs and practical how‑tos: avoid unnecessary onboarding upsells, turn off unsolicited recommendations and minimize data shared with Microsoft — while noting the risks of registry edits and the fact that future updates can restore removed features.

Quick wins during setup

  • Avoid mandatory Microsoft account sign‑in:
    • - During OOBE (the setup screen), press Shift+F10 to open a command prompt and run:

    OOBE\BYPASSNRO

    The PC will reboot and you can choose “I don’t have Internet” to create a local account. (This still works in 25H2 but Microsoft can remove the bypass in future builds.)
    - On Windows 11 Pro, choose “Work or school” → “sign‑in options” → “domain join instead” to create a local account without the command line.
    - If you make install media frequently, the third‑party Rufus tool can produce ISOs that remove the enforced Microsoft account requirement at setup. Download Rufus from its official site at rufus.ie and follow prompts to disable account requirement when building your USB installer.

  • During first run, decline every Microsoft 365/OneDrive/Game Pass upsell and set the privacy toggles to No (location, Find My Device, and the four browsing/usage data toggles). You can change these later in Settings > Privacy & security.

    • Remove or hide built‑in apps and bloat

    Windows 11 still ships with many first‑party apps and some third‑party shortcuts. You can uninstall many of them from Settings > Apps > Installed apps or by right‑clicking in Start. Ars Technica lists dozens of removable apps on a fresh 25H2 install, including:

  • Calculator, Camera, Clock, Copilot, Family, Feedback Hub, Game Assist, Media Player, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Clipchamp, OneDrive, Teams, To Do, Outlook, Paint, Photos, Power Automate, Solitaire, Xbox and more.

    • Note: Some system components are now locked into a “System Components” area and can't be removed without unsupported hacks. Edge and its webview/updater are effectively non‑removable.

    Tidy Start, Taskbar, Search and the lock screen

  • Personalize the taskbar: Settings > Personalization > Taskbar. Hide Search, Widgets and Task view if you don’t use them. Use Taskbar behaviors to auto‑hide and disable badges/flash.
  • Stop Start menu recommendations and account prompts: Settings > Personalization > Start — turn off “Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more” and “show account‑related notifications.”
  • Disable search highlights: Settings > Privacy & Security > Search > turn off “Show search highlights.”
  • Lock screen: Settings > Personalization > Lock screen — switch from Windows Spotlight to Picture/Slideshow and uncheck “get fun facts, tips, tricks, and more” to remove news and interactive elements.

    • These simple changes cut a lot of the noise without advanced tweaking.

    Control privacy, telemetry and recommendations

  • Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers: disable “Personalized offers,” “Improve Start and search results,” and “Recommendations and offers in Settings.”
  • Settings > Privacy & security > Diagnostics & feedback: set Feedback frequency to Never to stop feedback prompts.
  • System > Notifications: expand additional settings and uncheck the “finish setting up your PC” and similar nags.

    • In‑app AI features and Copilot+ hardware

    Microsoft increasingly embeds AI functions into core apps (Paint, Photos, Notepad) and into the OS. If you want to minimize AI:

  • Be aware: many in‑app AI features require uninstalling the whole app to fully remove them; toggles exist in some places (Notepad, Edge) but not others (Paint).
  • Copilot: you can uninstall the standalone Copilot app by searching it in Start, right‑clicking and choosing Uninstall — but major updates may reinstall it.
  • Copilot+ PCs (devices with Qualcomm Snapdragon X, Intel Core Ultra, AMD Ryzen AI) ship with additional features such as Recall and Click to Do. Recall is opt‑in, and its settings live at Settings > Privacy & security > Recall & snapshots. To remove Recall entirely, go to Settings > System > Optional Features → More Windows features, then find and disable Recall from the legacy Control Panel list.
  • Click to Do can be toggled off in Settings > Privacy & security > Click to Do.

    • Ars notes that some Copilot+ extensions (for image generation, for example) are large — one ImageCreationHostApp extension can exceed 1 GB — and are not installed by default.

    Clean up Microsoft Edge (or opt for another browser)

    Edge is now heavily integrated with Microsoft services and AI features. If you keep Edge, these adjustments reduce telemetry and UI clutter:

  • Start page: turn off Quick links/sponsored links and “show content.”
  • Privacy: set Tracking prevention to Strict, disable optional diagnostic data and any "share my data with third parties" toggles.
  • Search: change the default search engine in Address bar and search; disable “Show me search and site suggestions using my typed characters.”
  • Sidebar & Copilot: Settings > Appearance > Copilot and sidebar — turn off the sidebar, Copilot toolbar button and related personalization options.
  • Languages: disable “Use Copilot for writing on the web” and switch from Microsoft Editor to Basic spellcheck if you want less cloud processing.

    • If Edge continues to bother you, install an alternative. Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi and Chromium forks each have pros and cons; none are fully immune from site or extension compatibility tradeoffs.

    A few popular tweaks and third‑party tools (with cautions)

  • Restore the old right‑click context menu: a registry tweak can restore Windows 10‑style context menus. Example command (run in Terminal):

    • reg add "HKCU\Software\Classes\CLSID\{86ca1aa0-34aa-4e8b-a509-50c905bae2a2}\InprocServer32" /f

    Then restart Explorer. Editing the registry can cause problems — back up before you change it.

  • Disable Bing in Start menu searches (registry):

    • reg add HKEYCURRENTUSER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search /v BingSearchEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0

  • Windhawk: a community project that can restyle the Start menu to resemble Windows 10. Useful, but third‑party modules may carry risk; install with caution.

    • Always create a restore point or full backup before applying registry edits or third‑party system mods. Windows updates may revert these changes.

    Use Focus and Do Not Disturb for distraction‑free work

    Windows 11 includes Focus (Settings > System > Focus), which combines Do Not Disturb, a timer and notification controls. Configure allowed notifications, set automatic schedules and use the Clock app integration for a quieter work session.

    Practical warnings and final advice

  • Microsoft can and does reintroduce features or re‑enable defaults through major updates. Some removals are temporary.
  • Avoid unsupported system hacks unless you understand the compatibility and security tradeoffs. Removing core components can break updates, security features or app compatibility.
  • If privacy or telemetry is a high priority, consider using local accounts, tightening privacy toggles, and minimizing cloud syncs. But weigh those choices against the convenience of tied features (OneDrive backups, key recovery via Microsoft account, sync across devices).

If you want a calmer Windows 11 experience, most users will find a lot of benefit from the built‑in settings described here: skip account sign‑in during setup, disable recommendations and offers, prune the Start menu and taskbar, switch off unwanted AI buttons and sidebar elements in Edge, and use Focus to silence interruptions. For power users, registry tweaks and third‑party tools can restore older behaviors — but they come with risk and require maintenance as Windows evolves.

For official Microsoft details about Windows 11, privacy controls and feature descriptions, see the Windows hub at Microsoft Windows.

— reporting synthesized from hands‑on cleanup guides and tips covering Windows 11 25H2

Windows 11PrivacyCopilotHow‑ToMicrosoft

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