Windows 10 will come with a range of built-in pre-installed Windows 10 apps, and there’s no easy way to hide them from the “All Apps” view in the new Start menu. Most of these Apps you will not even use and will make the start menu feel more cluttered and make it harder to find your desired apps. It is very common for organisations to try and reduce the footprint of these built-in apps (or default apps) in their standard operating images to simplify them and make them look less cluttered, ready for deployment. You can uninstall Windows 10 Apps, but Microsoft doesn’t allow you to easily uninstall them in the usual way. Most of these apps will not even show up within your traditional list of installed apps in your Control Panel – > Programs and Features.
Wait, before you go crazy uninstalling apps from your PC it is not really recommended to uninstall the built-in universal apps unless you know for sure it is OK to do so. Before you uninstall some of these apps bare in mind some regular function you might use could rely on these apps. For example by removing Bing News might cripple Cortana’s ability to deliver you stories, and removing Alarms and Clock might break the digital assistant’s ability to set reminders. If deleting an app creates such an unintended consequence it may be better just to leave the App as is. These apps take up very little space on your device, so it’s best to just ignore them if you don’t want to use them. You should also be aware that it’s likely that Windows updates will reinstall those apps anyway if the update relates to that particular app. But, if you really want to uninstall them, you can. And, if you’ve already uninstalled included apps, you can get them all back with a single command.
Uninstall Windows 10 Apps traditionally
You can install some apps in the normal way. Just right-click an app on the Start menu—either in the All Apps list or the app’s tilke—and then select the “Uninstall” option. (On a touch screen, long-press the app instead of right-clicking.)
Here’s another way: Start button >> Settings >> Apps >> Apps & Settings >> scroll down to the app you want to delete and click on it >> Uninstall.
Uninstall Windows 10 Apps using PowerShell
You can uninstall most of the built-in apps with a simple PowerShell cmdlet.
Please note, There will be some apps you will not be able to uninstall using Powershell. If you try, you’ll see an error message saying they can’t be removed.
Here’s how to do it.
First, open PowerShell as administrator. Hit Windows+X, and then choose the “Windows PowerShell (Admin)” option from the Power User menu.
At the PowerShell prompt, copy and paste one or more of the following commands—pressing Enter after each command—to remove the apps you don’t want on your Windows 10 system:
Uninstall 3D Builder:
Get-AppxPackage *3dbuilder* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Alarms and Clock:
Get-AppxPackage *windowsalarms* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Calculator:
Get-AppxPackage *windowscalculator* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Calendar and Mail:
Get-AppxPackage *windowscommunicationsapps* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Camera:
Get-AppxPackage *windowscamera* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Contact Support:
This app can't be removed.
Uninstall Cortana:
This app can't be removed.
Uninstall Get Office:
Get-AppxPackage *officehub* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Get Skype:
Get-AppxPackage *skypeapp* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Get Started:
Get-AppxPackage *getstarted* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Groove Music:
Get-AppxPackage *zunemusic* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Maps:
Get-AppxPackage *windowsmaps* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Microsoft Edge:
This app can't be removed.
Uninstall Microsoft Solitaire Collection:
Get-AppxPackage *solitairecollection* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Money:
Get-AppxPackage *bingfinance* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Movies & TV:
Get-AppxPackage *zunevideo* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall News:
Get-AppxPackage *bingnews* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall OneNote:
Get-AppxPackage *onenote* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall People:
Get-AppxPackage *people* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Phone Companion:
Get-AppxPackage *windowsphone* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Photos:
Get-AppxPackage *photos* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Store:
Get-AppxPackage *windowsstore* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Sports:
Get-AppxPackage *bingsports* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Voice Recorder:
Get-AppxPackage *soundrecorder* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Weather:
Get-AppxPackage *bingweather* | Remove-AppxPackage
Uninstall Windows Feedback:
This app can't be removed.
Uninstall Xbox:
Get-AppxPackage *xboxapp* | Remove-AppxPackage
How to Reinstall All Built-in Apps
The good thing is that even if remove Built-in apps from Windows 10 using PowerShell, they can always be installed back from the store. Unlike Windows 7, Windows 10 offers Microsoft Store which is a central place to install and update all the apps on your PC.
If you do decide you want the preinstalled apps back, you can reinstall them with a single line of PowerShell code. Again, open a PowerShell window as Administrator. Copy and paste the following line at the PowerShell prompt, and then press Enter:
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers| Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"}
This command tells Windows to install those default apps again. Give it some time and allow it to finish, even if nothing appears to happen at first. Even if you see an error message, restart your PC, and then examine your Start menu—you may just have all those default apps back again, anyway.
Important!! DON’T DELETE THESE WINDOWS 10 APPS
Edge
Microsoft used to be the king of the internet. Remember Internet Explorer? You might still have it on your smartphone or laptop. But it was long ago overtaken by Google Chrome. Window’s Microsoft Edge is its newest web browser. While it’s not very popular, it’s actually a pretty good browser and has many benifits and is very secure. It has extensions, which you’ve gotten accustomed to using on Chrome and Firefox.
More important, some non-Microsoft software programs are designed to work with Edge. So, your Windows 10 may not work as intended if you delete it.
Cortana
Cortana can be a annoying. That’s Microsoft’s voice-activated personal assistant. It’s like Amazon’s Alexa, only quite a bit more irritating for many people. That’s true especially when you’re trying to get your workday started and Cortana would rather freeze your computer while it asks you a random question. However, Cortana runs your local searches, so you don’t want to get rid of it.
