Title: Revolutionize Your Windows 11 Experience: Learn How to Take Control of Sneaky Background Apps

Introduction: Windows has always been a popular operating system for PC users. However, with the latest version of Windows 11, Microsoft has introduced several new features to enhance users’ experience. One such feature is the ability to control background apps, which can significantly impact the performance of your system. In this article, we will discuss how to take control of sneaky background apps in Windows 11.

The Problem with Background Apps: Background apps are the applications that run in the background of your device without your knowledge, consuming resources, and slowing down your system’s performance. These apps can be useful for some cases, such as to receive notifications or to check for updates. However, many times, background apps, such as Adobe Creative Cloud or Spotify, tend to run continuously, which can consume a significant amount of resources, leading to slow system performance.

How to Take Control of Sneaky Background Apps: Windows 11 provides users with several options to control background apps’ behavior, allowing them to prioritize the apps that matter. Here’s how you can take control of sneaky background apps in Windows 11:

  1. Identifying Sneaky Background Apps: The first thing you need to do is to identify which apps are running in the background and consuming significant resources. You can do this by pressing Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open the Task Manager. Here, under the “Processes” tab, you will see a list of running applications. If you notice any particular application constantly running in the background, you can click on it and select the “End Task” option to stop it from running.

  2. Controlling Background Apps: Windows 11 provides users with the ability to control which apps can run in the background. To do this, open the “Settings” app, and click on “Privacy and Security.” Scroll down to the “Background apps” section, where you can see a list of all apps that can run in the background. From here, you can select which apps you want to allow or block from running in the background.

  3. Disabling Background Apps: If you want to completely disable all background apps, you can do so by going to the “Settings” app, selecting “Privacy and Security,” and scrolling down to “App permissions.” Here, you will find the “Background apps” option, where you can disable all background apps.

Conclusion: Taking control of sneaky background apps is an effective way to improve the performance of your Windows 11 device significantly. By identifying and stopping unnecessary background apps, you can free up system resources, thus improving the overall performance and speed of your device. Windows 11 provides several tools to control background apps, allowing users to prioritize apps and stop unnecessary ones from running. By following the steps discussed above, you can revolutionize your Windows 11 experience and enjoy a faster and more efficient system.

On Windows 11, apps from the Microsoft Store can continue to run in the background to download data and provide notifications for updates.

In previous versions of the OS, the Privacy settings included a page to decide whether apps should run in the background globally or per application, but this is no longer the case on Windows 11. In this new version of the OS, you need to configure the background permissions per app individually through the Apps settings.

In this guide, you will learn the steps to decide which application should keep running in the background on Windows 11.

Stop apps from running in the background on Windows 11

To prevent apps from running in the background, use these steps:

  • Open Settings on Windows 11.
  • Click on Apps.
  • Click on Apps & features on the right side.
  • Apps & features
  • Click the menu (three-dotted) button for the Windows 11 app you want to change its settings.
  • Click on Advanced options.
  • Under the “Background apps permissions” section, use the drop-down menu, and select the Never option to stop the app from running in the background on Windows 11.
  • Windows 11 disable background apps
  • Quick note: The default option is the Power optimized, meaning that Windows 11 will manage the app automatically. The Always option can be used to allow an app to always run in the background.
  • Repeat steps No. 6 and 7 to change the background permissions for other Microsoft Store apps.

Once you complete the steps, the app you configured will no longer run in the background on Windows 11.

Open Settings on Windows 11.

Click on Apps.

Click on Apps & features on the right side.

Apps & features

Click the menu (three-dotted) button for the Windows 11 app you want to change its settings.

Click on Advanced options.

Under the “Background apps permissions” section, use the drop-down menu, and select the Never option to stop the app from running in the background on Windows 11.

Repeat steps No. 6 and 7 to change the background permissions for other Microsoft Store apps.