Microsoft adds a native way to remove Windows 11 bloatware from new installations

Compared to the previous version of Windows, Windows 11 comes with quite a lot of unnecessary software that users who care about having a clean PC, free of any unneeded applications, need to spend time removing when installing a fresh version of the operating system.

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Unfortunately, this can be a time-consuming process, and removing specific applications, such as Microsoft Edge or OneDrive, can even require the user to delve into PowerShell, a command-line program. Getting into this territory of Windows can be daunting for some users, which is why many users wanting to remove Windows bloatware typically look for third-party software specifically designed to remove it from a new installation of Windows. An example of this, and something I use regularly, is Talon. Check that out here.

However, there now appears to be a new way to remove Windows 11 bloat, and it's designed by Microsoft itself. Windows Insiders have discovered a feature in Windows 11 version 25H2 that allows users to remove pre-installed apps. The setting is called Remove Default Microsoft Store Packages, and is located under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > App Package Deployment. The apps are removed after the user selects which ones they want to keep and which ones they want to discard from the installation.

Microsoft has yet to confirm when it will release Windows 11 25H2 to the public, but it is expected to receive a public release sometime later in 2025.