Windows 11 Startup Apps: Safely Disable Edge, Widgets, OneDrive, Teams and Copilot

The steps below are all supported controls in Windows and in the apps themselves. You don't need scripts or registry edits. The memory numbers in the original piece came from the author watching Task Manager on his own ASUS TUF Gaming laptop. They aren't controlled benchmarks, so your results will depend on your hardware, your settings and what you actually use.

What Microsoft says about startup apps​

Microsoft's own support documentation backs the basic idea. It says apps that launch automatically at boot can affect both how fast Windows starts and how well the system performs afterward. It recommends letting only the tools you need start with Windows.

You can manage startup apps in two places:

• Settings > Apps > Startup. Each registered startup app has an On/Off toggle.
• Task Manager > Startup apps tab. It shows the same list, plus a column estimating each app's effect on startup.

Microsoft defines the Task Manager labels this way:

Why this matters: These ratings only measure startup cost. They tell you which apps slow down sign-in. They don't predict how much memory you'll get back or how fast the PC will feel later. Use them to decide what to look at first.

1. Microsoft Edge: Startup boost and background apps​

The guide's complaint is that Edge runs in the background even if Chrome is your main browser. Microsoft says Startup boost keeps Edge running with a minimal set of processes so it opens faster. Microsoft describes the feature as one that "enables faster browser launch and seamless startup performance by running Edge processes in background."

Here is the counterpoint. Microsoft calls the resource cost "limited" and says Startup boost adds nothing once Edge windows are open. Microsoft also doesn't turn it on for every machine. Its published criteria require Windows devices with more than 4 GB of RAM, or more than 1 GB with a modern disk, where Edge is used every few days and no conflicting extensions are installed. So "Windows 11 enables Startup boost by default" isn't true on every PC.

Independent testing varies. Pureinfotech reported that turning it off "reduced memory usage by around 600 MB, but the savings will vary by device." That is well above Microsoft's "limited impact" description. Treat it as one person's result, not a typical figure.

How to turn it off:

1. Open Edge, click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and choose Settings.
2. Select System and performance in the left pane.
3. Under System, turn off Startup boost.
4. Also turn off Continue running background extensions and apps when Microsoft Edge is closed.

You can also type edge://settings/system/manageSystem into the address bar to go straight to the toggle.

These two switches do different things. Startup boost pre-loads Edge so it opens faster. The second setting lets extensions and web apps keep running after you close the last Edge window. If you rely on an extension that works in the background, turning off the second toggle will stop it.

If the toggle is greyed out: Your organization may be controlling it. Microsoft offers a group policy that lets administrators enable or disable startup boost. A guide on managing it through Intune notes that when the policy is enforced, startup boost is enabled, and it cannot be turned off manually by the user. On a work PC, ask IT before trying workarounds.

2. Widgets: hiding it is not the same as disabling it​

The guide says the Widgets board refreshes news, stocks, sports scores and weather in the background. The author saw about 60–70 MB of RAM in use while idle and more than 300 MB when he opened the board. Again, those are his numbers. Microsoft's documentation confirms that widget content refreshes throughout the day to stay current.

Steps:

1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings.
2. Expand Taskbar items.
3. Turn Widgets off.

This removes the taskbar button, but Widgets is still there. Microsoft notes that you can still open the board with Windows key + W or by swiping in from the edge of the screen. "Turn it off entirely" goes too far. What you've done is hide the entry point.

If the news feed is what bothers you, there's a narrower option. Microsoft's Widgets settings let you remove the Discover dashboard, which is the news stream, from the board's navigation bar. Open Widgets, select the settings button and turn Discover off under Dashboards.

3. OneDrive: unlink, then check startup​

The guide says OneDrive runs two processes, the main app and a sync service, which used more than 200 MB together on the author's laptop. If you use Google Drive or local backups instead, it suggests unlinking OneDrive and stopping it from starting with Windows.

Steps, matching Microsoft's documentation:

1. Select the OneDrive cloud icon in the notification area.
2. Select Help & Settings, then Settings.
3. Go to the Account tab.
4. Select Unlink this PC, then confirm with Unlink account.
5. Go to Settings > Apps > Startup and turn off any OneDrive entries listed there. Which entries appear depends on your installation.

What happens to your files: Microsoft says unlinking won't lose any files or data, and you can still reach them by signing in to OneDrive.com. The bigger risk is not knowing where your files actually are. If Files On-Demand or folder backup was on, some documents may exist only in the cloud. Make sure everything important is stored locally or backed up somewhere else before you stop syncing.

Microsoft also notes that OneDrive is built into some versions of Windows and can't be uninstalled there. On those systems you can hide it by marking the OneDrive folder hidden in File Explorer's Properties and quitting the app from the notification area.

4. Teams: stop auto-start, uninstall only if you don't use it​

The author measured Teams at 150–300 MB in the background, and over 1 GB when opened. He suggests stopping it from starting automatically. Our sources didn't independently confirm those figures.

Steps:

1. Open Settings > Apps > Startup.
2. Find Microsoft Teams and turn it off.

Teams still works normally when you open it yourself. It just won't load at sign-in. For anyone who joins a call now and then, this is the better choice than uninstalling. If you never use Teams, uninstalling it from Settings > Apps > Installed apps is reasonable. On a managed work PC, check with IT before removing collaboration software.

5. Copilot: uninstalling the app is supported​

The guide says the standalone Copilot app used more than 350 MB while open and about 100 MB after it was closed. The author calls it bloatware that arrived through updates. That's his opinion. Microsoft does document how to remove it:

1. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
2. Find Copilot.
3. Open the More options (…) menu and choose Uninstall.

On Windows 10, the route is Settings > Apps, then find Copilot and uninstall it.

Removing the app doesn't remove every Copilot feature across Windows, Edge or Microsoft 365. It only removes this app. The guide's subtitle also says idle AI services eat "baseline CPU cycles," but the article gives no measurements to support that.

A safer way to do it​

The guide makes all five changes at once. A more careful approach:

1. Start with Task Manager. Open the Startup apps tab and sort by impact. Focus on High-impact items you don't use.
2. Change one thing at a time. Restart after each change. If something breaks or a notification stops arriving, you'll know the cause.
3. Know the trade-offs. Microsoft's background-app documentation warns that apps blocked from running in the background won't send notifications or stay updated when you're not using them. Desktop apps like these usually need to be managed in their own settings, not in Windows' background-app permissions.
4. Compare before and after. Note your memory use at idle and how long sign-in takes. Do this once before you start and again afterward.

The verdict​

Is this a real performance fix or a placebo? It depends on your PC. On a laptop with 8 GB of RAM and a crowded startup list, removing four or five background apps can make a real difference, especially to sign-in time and fan noise. That matches the author's report that his fans rarely spin up during boot or light browsing now. On a well-equipped desktop with 32 GB of RAM, the change may be hard to notice. The original article admits as much: it says performance gains will vary depending on hardware and usage.

The bottom line: These are reasonable cleanup steps if you don't use the features involved. None of them can damage your system, and every one can be undone with the same toggle. Just don't expect them to turn an old laptop into a new one.