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: 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: 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: 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. All content on this site is provided with no warranties, express or implied. Use any information at your own risk. Always backup of your device and files before making any changes. Privacy policy info.