4 Ways to Uninstall Apps in Windows 11

Installing too many apps from Store and third-party developers will slow down your system. If you did not cleanup your computer for a while, it’s high time to uninstall and get rid of all unnecessary apps. Unlike macOS, you can’t simply drag the application (.exe) file and drop it in the Recycle Bin. You need to properly uninstall apps in Windows 11 to remove its data and related files.

Uninstalling Apps in Windows 11

Microsoft introduced lot of options in Windows 11 to delete apps. However, you still need to delete one by one and there are no options to delete system apps like Microsoft Edge. Some apps do not install files and can be used as an independent package or executable application. You can simply delete these apps to remove it from your system.

1. Uninstall from Start Menu

The Start menu has multiple options to uninstall an app and this is the most convenient way when you know the app’s name.

• From pinned app list – Click the Start menu icon and right-click on any app under “Pinned” section. Select “Uninstall” option and confirm the action to delete the app.

• From recommended items – if you have recently installed any app, it will appear in the “Recommended” section with “Recently added” label below it. You can right-click on the app and select “Uninstall” option to remove it from your system.

• From all apps list – click “All apps” button to view all installed apps in your system. Here also you can right-click on an unwanted app and select “Uninstall” option.

Note: As you can see the pinned apps list in above Start menu screen, there are so many apps like Spotify, TikTok, Instagram, Messenger showing preinstalled in the system. However, these apps are not available in the system and clicking on them will actually install them. In this case, you can right-click and uninstall them to remove from the pinned list and reorder the list with useful items.

2. Searching and Uninstalling an App

If you do not remember the app’s name, press “Windows Logo + S” keys to open search. Type any related word in the search bar and select “Apps” tab. If you find the app, highlight using down or up arrow keys and then select “App settings”. You can also right-click on any app in the list and select “App settings” from the context menu.

This will take you to the Settings app, scroll down and click “Uninstall” button.

Confirm the pop-up by clicking “Uninstall” button again to delete the app.

3. Uninstall from Windows Settings

You can also open Windows Settings and uninstall apps from there. This method helps to view all installed apps (like Start menu all apps list) in a neat manner with an option to search and remove.

• Right-click on the Start menu icon and select “Settings” option.
• When you are in the Settings app, click “Apps” section from the left sidebar.
• Select “Installed apps” which is the first option in the right pane.

• Arrange the items by tile view or use the search box to quickly find the app that you want to delete.
• Click the three dots in the app panel and select “Uninstall” option.

• Again, confirm the action by clicking “Uninstall” button and delete the app.

Note: Selecting “Advanced options” will take you to app’s settings from there also you can uninstall the app as explained in method 3.

4. Using Control Panel

If you are fond of old Control Panel, you can use that for removing unnecessary apps.

• Use Windows search to find and open Control Panel app.
• When you are in Control Panel, arrange the items by category.
• Click “Uninstall a program” link showing below “Programs” category.

• Select an app from the list and then click “Uninstall” to remove the app.

As you can see, Control Panel is not a reliable option as it does not show many installed apps in the list. There are 33 apps in “Settings > Apps > Installed apps” section while Control Panel only shows 6.

Other Uninstallation Options

Sometimes, uninstalling apps using the above methods will not completely delete all data associated with the app. These left over junk files will occupy storage space and staying in your system forever. You can try system cleanup apps which can help to uninstall the apps without any trace. Go to Microsoft Store and search for “uninstall” and you will find the apps like PC Cleaner and Optimizer by Nero, CCleaner and Soft Organizer. Install one of these apps to uninstall the programs and cleanup junk files in your system. Note that Microsoft also has a PC Manager which you can use for this purpose.

Some third-party apps also come with uninstaller package. You need to use that package to delete the app instead of using the above methods. This may be required to completely delete all associated files and data which otherwise stay residual in your system.

Final Words

Many retailers will install customized apps when you purchase a new system. There are also unnecessary apps come preinstalled when you download and install Windows 11 using third-party setup. You may not need all those preinstalled apps and the first thing you should do is to get rid of those unnecessary apps. You can follow one of the above explained methods to uninstall the apps in Windows 11 any free up storage space.