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Door staff@engadget.com (Max Miller) - 28 Sep 2026
With the most obvious bloatware gone, the next step in safely trimming the Windows 11 fat is disabling Microsoft's prolific telemetry, tracking and advertising. We'll be using a comprehensive debloating tool, which will change many of these settings without you needing to mess around in the Settings app. I recommend returning to Settings later and going through each menu, if only to ensure that everything is to your liking after you've run the debloater.
There are a number of "one-click" debloating tools available for Windows 11, but I generally caution against them. While they will aggressively streamline Windows by ripping out its most annoying and invasive components, they're taking a sledgehammer to a problem that is best solved with a scalpel. It's worth spending a bit more time doing a more granular debloat to configure Windows for your specific needs without causing headaches.
My go-to debloating tool is Chris Titus Tech's WinUtil. Unlike other solutions, WinUtil is nothing more than a script with a GUI, and it can be accessed right from the command line. To run it, right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (Admin), then type the following command followed by Enter:
irm "https://christitus.com/win" | iex
You should never run commands you find on the Internet, especially those that fetch data from the web, without being certain what they do. This one comes from a trusted developer and is safe; feel free to click around the site if you want to learn more first.
While WinUtil is a user-friendly tool, you can still cause issues if you run its advanced tweaks without understanding them. Proceed with some caution from this point. It's wise to create a restore point before beginning so you can return to a stable state if needed. Type "restore" into the Start meu, choose Create a restore point and choose Create to make a new one. Use the System Restore button on this same menu if something breaks.
There are a number of "one-click" debloating tools available for Windows 11, but I generally caution against them. While they will aggressively streamline Windows by ripping out its most annoying and invasive components, they're taking a sledgehammer to a problem that is best solved with a scalpel. It's worth spending a bit more time doing a more granular debloat to configure Windows for your specific needs without causing headaches.
My go-to debloating tool is Chris Titus Tech's WinUtil. Unlike other solutions, WinUtil is nothing more than a script with a GUI, and it can be accessed right from the command line. To run it, right-click the Start button and choose Terminal (Admin), then type the following command followed by Enter:
irm "https://christitus.com/win" | iex
You should never run commands you find on the Internet, especially those that fetch data from the web, without being certain what they do. This one comes from a trusted developer and is safe; feel free to click around the site if you want to learn more first.
While WinUtil is a user-friendly tool, you can still cause issues if you run its advanced tweaks without understanding them. Proceed with some caution from this point. It's wise to create a restore point before beginning so you can return to a stable state if needed. Type "restore" into the Start meu, choose Create a restore point and choose Create to make a new one. Use the System Restore button on this same menu if something breaks.