Ads are everywhere around us; it appears in our daily life as well as our computer. Each new update of Windows 10 is no escape. People start to get pissed off when seeing ads in Start menu, Cortana search box, Action Center & Notifications and on the lock screen. Please keep reading to know how to fix.
Do You Want to Remove Ads from Your Windows 10
An obvious change that comes with the new Windows 10 updates is the increasing ads. You cannot get rid of the nagging ads no matter you do:
- Get a free update.
- Purchase a new PC with Windows 10 license.
- Spend money buying a copy of Windows 10 Professional.
- …
You will definitely be surrounded by ads in your operating system. Actually, the ads may drive you to purchase apps and services you probably don’t need or want. This is a hidden price even if you get your Windows 10 for free.
Microsoft also wants to add ads to Windows 10 Mail and Calendar apps:
Now, the question is how to remove ads from Windows 10. Can you block ads from all Windows 10 apps? Maybe you can’t, but it is actually possible to disable a lot of the Windows 10 ads. And the steps are easy enough for many non-technical users to master.
How to Block Ads from Windows 10 App
If you’re careful enough, you’ll find Windows 10 has a lot of built-in ads. Most people want to remove these ads from Windows 10 since they’re very annoying. How to do that?
4 ways to remove ads built-in Windows 10:
- Remove ads from Start menu.
- Remove ads from lock screen.
- Remove ads from Action Center & Notifications.
- Remove ads from Cortana search box.
In your Start menu, the ads will be disguised as “suggested apps” (the apps suggested for you are decided by your behavior on operating system; for instance, PC games from the Windows Store) and it will take up your free space.
How to Remove Built-in Windows 10 Adverts Start Menu
How to remove ads built-in your computer running Windows 10?
- Click on the Start button and scroll down to find Settings.
- Open Settings and select Personalization.
- Shift to Start in the left panel.
- Turn off the toggle switch under Show suggestions occasionally in Start.
Remove Ads from Lock Screen
It’s easy to find Windows 10 ads appeared on the desktop. If you don’t want to see ads on a lock screen, please set a custom picture/slideshow, instead of using Windows Spotlight.
- Press Windows + I to open Settings.
- Select Personalization.
- Shift to Lock screen in the left pane.
- Locate the Background section in the right pane.
- Choose Picture or Slideshow from the drop-down menu to replace Windows spotlight.
- Follow the instructions to set your picture or slideshow.
- You can also turn off the Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen option too.
Windows 10 lock screen is a good place to display advertisements. Microsoft is doing so by 2 ways:
- Through Windows Spotlight
- Using your own custom background
Though it’s impossible to block ads when you are using Windows spotlight, you can actually choose to see only custom background picture or slideshow.
Remove Ads from Action Center & Notifications
Microsoft is trying to make things much easier for us by pushing tips, tricks, and other suggestions when we use Windows through toast notifications and in Action Center.
If you want to get rid of those suggested apps and services you should do the following things:
- Repeat step 1 to step 2 mentioned in “Remove Ads from Start Menu” part.
- Select System (Display, notifications, power).
- Select Notifications & actions from left panel.
- Turn off the toggle switch under Get tips, tricks, and suggestions as you use Windows.
Remove Ads from Cortana Search Box
Cortana is the personal digital assistant induced by Microsoft since Windows 10. It will appear now and then to provide suggestions for you. These suggestions can be regarded as advertisements in some way.
How to block them:
- Click on the Cortana search box in taskbar.
- Click on the Settings (gear) button located on the left bottom.
- Turn off the toggle switch under Taskbar tidbits.
Luckily, you are able to remove most of the ads from Windows 10 to enhance user experience.
How to fix when the Windows 10 taskbar is not working:
