As more and more people are being forced to switch to Windows 11, Microsoft's most AI-malware-ridden OS yet, I've been putting together articles and links for how to undo the damage and save your battery, your RAM, your disk space, your privacy, and your sanity from this bullshit.
FIRST:
The easiest way to get rid of the majority of the bullshit that Windows is forcing on us, as of October 2025, is this one-stop-one-click debloat solution from a modern day hero:
It's very easy, even if you're not tech savvy or get scared of pop up windows saying "ARE YOU SURE?" Yes, you are sure, I promise. This program takes maybe two minutes and will save you SO MUCH pain, time, and money (and exploitation).
Now that you've done that, here's the cleanup, to catch the little shit that the debloat might have missed (most of this will already be done by debloat, but hey, it's good to double check).
Even just reading about some of these features makes me angry. Fucking Copilot and "Discover" AI scrapers are in Notepad. NOTEPAD. And then there's this uncanny valley garbage:
No uncanny valley video calls for me, thanks! (Also, what else is it doing while it scans your face and listens to your calls? What else, microsoft? Because there was a lot of memory being assigned to this program for a simple "smooths your skin" add on).
The truly insane number of places they have stuck ads on your own home computer is sickening. Become Unmarketable.
Bonus:
Some background programs you probably don't need that are taking up space and how to remove them (Microsoft forums, 2024)
Your Samsung Galaxy Phone comes with 22 apps you don't need (Android Police, 2025)
How to disable the AI in firefox (still the only browser that lets you do this permanently) (Windows Report, 2025)
At this point Linux Mint is genuinely easier for a tech-illiterate person to use than Windows 11
I've never heard of Linux mint. I'll look into it and see if it's something that could be intuited by people who do not spend much time trying to understand the tech that runs their entire lives.
Only thing stopping me from switching to linux is that i use my computer for gaming. Concerns for compatibility and stability are my issue
@jedikitteh Gaming on Linux is highly supported these days, Steam even has an official compatibility layer called Proton that makes most Steam games run flawlessly on Linux without any tinkering! You can check out ProtonDB for info on specific games. Lutris handles lots of non-Steam games.
How do I get the Raphire GitHub thing to work? Instructions say to double click on the Run.bat file but that isn’t a file I can find in the download
iirc it's a file that's just named Run but if you right click on it and look at the details, it's a .bat file, which refers to it's file type
@sleepyshark Thank you!
@sleepyshark One question answered. The next question what do I do when nothing happens that the instructions said should happen. It mentioned Powershell should I get that or do I already have it?
i got confused about this too
oops posted it too soon. anyway, i don't know much about tech stuff so i had to look up a tutorial for it on youtube: https://youtu.be/XTEEHmAFDlk?si=8ttH_LVC_aWku7eI
powershell is an app thats already on your windows computer!
switched to linux last year and it's the best decision i ever made, highly recommend this for anyone who doesn't require windows
Same here, been using EndeavourOS with KDE, it has been so refreshing after years of frustration with Windows. Everything just works, and no ads or AI bullshit.
@hex-os I've been using Endeavour for years now and it's great, but I don't know if I would rec it to people who aren't into computers. Mint is very very user friendly on the other hand
Awesome, now if only I could get the AI out of my Motorola...
yeeeaaah. one of the Biiiig reasons I don't want to replace my motorola phone right now
@sunshinehardware I had to replace my phone when the battery completely crapped out ...I should have done more research before picking a model
Thnak Yuo
is there anything to be done on a work computer? i don’t have the admin access to run a program from github, but i don’t want my device running at snail speed for shit i hate
You probably can't do anything on a work computer but it might be worth it to ask your security/IT department/manager if you can turn off certain AI programs because they are tracking everything you do. Which might violate proprietary information rules in your company?
@melyzard i work for a school, tracking has to be against the law considering all the minor data involved. thank you!
Oh no 😮 f@k
Microsoft wtf, bruh. They just needed to be good. That's all. 😮💨 Microsoft, post no.....🫳🏾
When i first got my laptop the first thing i did was downgrade it from Windows 11 to 10, although I was lucky to have enough computer experience that I was able to understand/follow instructions to create a bootable drive. But a lot of people don’t have that so I’m happy thats theres people out there working to make the win11 experience more tolerable
Contrary to popular belief, a lot of windows users dont even know how to use a terminal, so options like downgrading, linux, etc. are to complicated for them. Experts tend to overestimate the familiarity of the public with their field of expertise etc etc
@lonelysheepling Linux has gotten really user friendly of late, especially if someone else does the install. Heck, I had my senior citizen uncle on Ubuntu in like 2014 and he was just fine. All he needed was an email program and web browser, named thusly!
@lonelysheepling This is where I'm at. I'm absolutely planning to switch but it seems like I gotta know programming or... something to not fuck it up. I think i could manage to install one of the easier ones but even then I probably need to know more things to run it smoothly? I do know i need more RAM so im not gonna be able to jump straight into it just yet
There's an exhaustive argument to be made about how long people will stick to Windows before switching to Linux and just, learning from the experience then and there. Some will learn how to use various tools like git or the command line (🤔) to make their install of Windows 11 free of spooks, which. I'm not saying it's hypocritical, but for the final days of using Win10 in 2022, I had a desktop shortcut for the Terminal windows app because I was doing things in Windows that I do in Linux daily. The only real loss is exploitative software that belongs to Adobe, Epic Games, and of course, Microsoft.
Gonna speak for a good majority and say I have absolutely no idea what Linux actually is or how to do anything like switching from windows to, well anything else. Most people aren't AWARE there is stuff besides Windows, that's what the Monopoly Companies make it difficult to do
@0-memento-mori-0 There's like a ton of metaphors for what it does, but Linux is just the base that people put stuff on top of. Like Android, or the Wii. It's all Linux. This is an ongoing problem the community is trying to solve because everyone wants to recommend their particular flavour and configuration of a Linux desktop. But, we're in a dire situation and helping disenfranchised Windows users is a split priority. It's frustrating. I hope soon someone writes a "definitive" guide on a website for people to read.
@0-memento-mori-0 I'm currently out of work and willing to help folks figure out if Linux works for them and get it set up if so, for free. Just not for like the next 18 hours, I'm taking a mental vacation!
Every time Windows tried to get me to update from Win10 to Win11 I refused. This turns out to be an increasingly good choice. Holy shit.
Same, I don't know why anyone*s switching, Win 11 has been known as trash since before it was released
@nordic-hedge-witch Because win10 support has ended (at least outside of the EU) and by continuing to use it, you're not just putting your own PC in danger but your entire home network. It really is not a good idea to keep using it.
Thanks for the Samsung list, gonna tomorrow I killed them all already!
*check tomorrow
I need something like this but for Android :(
You could run a custom ROM like Lineage OS, or Graphene OS (if you owned a pixel phone). Unfortunately this comes with a lot of problems, like banking apps not working, or certain "official services" being unavailable. There's also the risk that in the future you won't be able to use Google Play Services at all (as they are implementing dev singing of all apps available on their app store and severely limiting the ability to sideload apps from other app stores). If you are simply looking to de-google your phone, there are several ways you can do that. If you would like to simply get rid of a lot of ads then you may want to go to your settings>network settings>Private DNS and set DNS. adguard. com (without spaces after the periods) to use the adguard filter lists to disallow ads to load. This does not work for everything but it will help significantly. I have plenty of other suggestions but I think they'd require their own post.
@atrielienz I'd love to see that post, if you make it
@melyzard I'll write something up and tag you, if that's alright with you?
Think I almost got them countered as of Windows 10 still staying on my PC. Except my computer is a little slow.
but google meet already smoothens my skin?? what is this for lol
You need a miscosoft account to even be allow to opt out
Switched to Linux like 8 months ago, super agree that we can’t just be like do Linux, I saw somebody mention mint it def is good as baby’s first Linux but there’s still absolutely some terminal stuff you need to do abt it
There are no terminal challenges on youtube and mint is actually one of the distros that doesn't require you to use the terminal at all nowadays iirc. It's just that MOST tutorials steer you towards the terminal because it's actually faster and easier for people who are used to it (and they are the ones writing the tutorials).
Like, I use Fedora and until yesterday I thought you need to use the terminal to activate the RPM fusion repository because literally all tutorials tell you to... Turns out you can also just activate it by clicking a button lol
@brandinotbroke Ok let me rephrase. Can you do it all without terminal? Probably. But I feel like those who are going “omg no switch to Linux it’s totally not a big deal and also never frustrating” are being somewhat disingenuous
I think it's worth mentioning Mini11 since it strips that out in the install instead of requiring a PS script to be run
When I right-click an image, I don't see "Ask Copilot", but I do see "AI Options". Any way to remove that?
That's probably not your windows OS asking, its your browser. Whichever browser you are using has AI programs running that you have not killed. If you're using Firefox, the link at the bottom of my post will walk you thru turning all that off.
Bookmarked, thank you!
If you are using Windows 10/11 you can download a utility called Shutup10++ FOR FREE that can be launched using power shell (a utility already available on Windows 10 and 11) that will allow you to toggle off built in Windows telemetry data, ads, tracking, and AI. What you can turn on and off with this utility depends on whether you have a Home, Pro, or Enterprise version of windows. The Home version of windows is the most limited, however, this tool will still give you helpful insights into what each toggle'd item does and whether they recommend you turn it off (and what the risks are of turning it off) so that you can make informed decisions about your OS and what runs on it. You will have to check these settings periodically because Microsoft has a habit of turning things back on periodically when you download and install updates. Once toggled off, some of these settings will only be editable in Shutup10++. You can Google this software (O&O software) as well as helpful guides to show you what it can do and give better insight into whether it is right for you.
Apparently, MS is rolling out copilot in windows 11 on the gamer bar whether you have copilot installed or not. It's called "Copilot Vision and it is very similar to Recall under the hood from what the article I read says. If you still have the Game Bar enabled or installed, it is likely that you will receive an update with this nonsense at some point in the near future. There is no notification that it's been installed and at present the beta has no privacy controls/settings. You can disable the Gaming Copilot widget from the game bar, however from experimentation so far the network traffic is still running with the user interface not open. This is a heads up to people who see this post, and I'd appreciate it if people would share this information and any information they find on how to turn it off, disable it, or remove it from windows systems in the future.
@lassukmiboolelunk neked eltevős
Wilma, Virginia, Kubuntu, or PopOS? Lutris exists. Linux has it's own well established indie scene. Play everyone's homework game from the last 30 years.
The hardest part of this process, by far, was figuring out how to download stuff off github lol
Sincerely, it is much easier to keep Windows for gaming (and ONLY that) and install a version of Linux for everything else. You will never have to worry about AI scraping
if anywones confused, powershell is already on ur computet, look it up in search and itl open (atleest for me)
if you're intimidated by linux but willing to do all this shit, you do not need to be intimidated by linux.
I kinda agree. Linux is much more transparent about what things are, and the hardest part of installing it was figuring out make a live usb on windows (But!! Please check if your desired linux distro is compatible with your laptop. I learned later that my HP laptop doesnt agree with Ubuntu, and spent 3 months using an ethernet cord until i learned how to fix my wifi driver)
i'd do it if Linux was compatible with the things i need on my computer. when i get another PC i'm gonna use Linux or Ubuntu bc i'm sick of this shit
@sharkprisms Dual boot! You can have both. It has its issues but almost every Linux user I know has some kind of dual booting setup.
Someone asked if this will also Microsoft edge Will it? I’m asking for them so I can answer their question
Microsoft edge is not on the kill list for the powershell script. If you want to know everything it turns off, you can run the script then select "2" when it gives you the option to either 1) just delete all bloatware or 2) pick and choose the bloatware you want to delete. It is super easy to read, just a list, not lots of code or anything
I also covered win11 privacy, I said for Edge you should set it to clear history for as many types of things as possible, every time it closes. And then turn off javascript/cookies for it, and use any other browser because (1) microsoft has interaction tie-ins with Windows, and (2) disabling javascript, cookies, and history retention is important since several processes will forcibly open Edge, and it avoids those processes from potentially setting and reading shared data too
OMFG SO IS THIS WHY I GOT FUCKING MALWARE WHEN I TRIED DOWNLOADING SMTH AS SOON AS I GOT WINDOWS 11??? TY FOR THIS YOU ARE AN ANGEL
Thank you for this. That stupidly colourful copilot button has been pissing me off everytime I open start lol
+1, my post covers a bit more in some places: https://thinkandwander.tumblr.com/post/798091800133943296/windows-11-setup-with-privacy About phones: GrapheneOS on Pixel phones is best, but uninstall/force stop/disable/deny permissions is the best order of events for unwanted things (can't always get rid of stuff on vendor phones). About AI in firefox: There are trustable alternatives like TOR. Also Mullvad, or just an open-source firefox/chrome fork that omits the mozilla/google stuff. But also check your browser, I prefer DuckDuckGo or Qwant, some like StartPage
HOLY MACARONI YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER
Honestly i have no idea what people are freaking out about. You can select what to install when the system updates 🤷
a lot of new AI features haven't been giving people the option to decline, that's why. Instead you have to go in and manually remove it, which they purposefully make unnecessarily complicated
The reasons to switch to Fedora Linux just keep piling up
I ran one of these scripts when setting up my pc and didn't know it would remove the edge browser and I was just left with no browser or way to download one 😭
Open the Command Prompt or PowerShell. You can search for it in the Start Menu. Type winget search browser to find the desired browser, or winget install Google.Chrome directly to download and install it. If prompted, agree to the license agreement by typing y and pressing Enter.
I just feel like for a large large amount of consumers the ability to turn it on and have it work outweighs their privacy. Should it? Idk man but the idea of getting a piece of tech and it just. Works when you open it is gonna be a huge factor for a big chunk of people. Again love Linux think it’s neat if I had to explain to my mother how to mount the second hard drive on a laptop she’d explode bc she wants a device that lets her print jpegs.
Thank God my laptop is windows 10
Never going to update it till it dies
"Make your skin look smoother and fake eye" contact makes me want to vomit
I would strongly advise against using such automated debloat script solutions. They're a great way to cause strange undiagnosable bugs on your system, especially if you blanket-disable anything that you feel seems bad. I'm gonna quote @swiftonsecurity on this (in replies)
Windows is not built to surface the cause of subsequent problems and the complex matrixes of dependency if you screw around in the "Okay You Can Technically Do This" stuff. I used to nLite corporate XP images for speed. Win10 is so much more wildly complex. You can screw around with debloat scripts on your personal PC and then wonder why your Xbox app won't sign in 6 months later and games won't launch with error 0xFUCK. This includes overly-aggressive "privacy tools." I complain about Windows but deep purges isn't the way.
@maxofs2d (...) I don't do much on my home PC either. I flip some telemetry stuff off but that's mostly it. I know and have discovered so much random issues I fortunately had the knowledge and ability to troubleshoot to know it was my fault. Most people don't. That's why I don't recommend. Enterprise IT staff get to see the results of forays into advanced customizations, across thousands of devices and user-decades of testing. I started off deeply editing everything I could. But it's just not worth it except some basic stuff unless you're an enthusiast learning.
@maxofs2d Again, if you're an enthusiast you're welcome to play around - please do. Just understand you're not too smart for antivirus. Be careful. And assume EVERYTHING that goes wrong in the OS or app or game is your fault. It probably is. But the discovery of that leads to learning. If you use a debloat script, or hell if you're interested, READ EVERY LINE. You'll learn a whole lot! It's a great exercise in education of how administering in PowerShell works. And a bunch of tricks. And you'll probably be concerned about how aggressive it can be
I'm so mad and petty that I'm switching to Linux. I will not be forced by companies to install this shit.
Everyone use Linux now
i hopped a few years back, it took some setup, but after a few frustrating moments trying to get stuff to run it's way nicer than Win...
