How to turn off Lock Screen widgets in Windows 11

Widgets first made their appearance on Windows with Windows Vista back in 2007 and allowed you to get information about various things like the weather, stock market updates, and more right from your desktop. While they could only be placed in the dedicated sidebar on Vista, with Windows 7, their capabilities were expanded and you could place them anywhere on the desktop.

Since Microsoft shifted to a new design language with Windows 8, many of Windows 7's features, including widgets, were removed from the OS. Widgets were also absent in Windows 10, but Microsoft decided to bring them back with the release of Windows 11.

And this time, widgets do not just appear on your desktop, but also on your Lock Screen. While this allows you to get information quickly when you log in, many users find this to be distracting.

Fortunately, there is a way to turn Lock Screen widgets off, and here is how you can do so.

Open the Windows Settings app and click on the 'Personalization' option on the left.

Scroll down and click on the 'Lock Screen' option.

Here, click on the button on the right of the 'Lock Screen Status' option. By default, it will be set to 'Weather And More'. Change it to 'None'.

Now, you will no longer see widgets on your Lock Screen. If you want to bring them back, simply go back to the Lock Screen page in the Settings app and turn them on from there.

Widgets have been a source of debate among Windows users for a long time, with some people liking the idea that they can quickly get information from their desktops, while many others prefer a clean and distraction-free space. The same is true for Lock Screen widgets, especially since after the newer updates, you cannot choose which widgets will appear on your Lock Screen.

With the steps mentioned above, you can easily turn off widgets on your Windows 11 Lock Screen. With more and more people switching from Windows to alternatives like macOS and Linux, Microsoft should focus on fixing things that are broken with its OS, rather than pushing features that worsen the user experience.