That might not be an issue if you always open Chrome or File Explorer anyway, but does every single session need the likes of Spotify or Microsoft Teams immediately? For most people, the answer is a resounding no. Unfortunately, many apps make automatic launch at startup the default setting. To stop this from happening, you’ll have to manually disable it on an app-by-app basis. However, there are three relatively simple ways to do just that in Windows 11.
How to turn off Windows 11 startup apps in Settings
This is definitely the easiest way to control which apps open at startup: As you might expect, the same process can be used to allow specific apps to run at startup. However, even disabled apps may still start minimised or running in the background. If this is an issue, the following steps will be useful:
How to turn off Windows 11 startup apps in Task Manager
If you’d rather not go down that route, the Task Manager is also an effective way to disable startup apps. The process here is exactly the same as Windows 10:
How to turn off Windows 11 startup apps in the Start-up folder
The third and final method involves the Start-up folder, found within File Explorer. Some apps automatically place themselves there after being downloaded, instructing Windows 11 to run them each time it boots up. However, these files can be safely deleted without negatively impacting your device: For all these methods, your changes will be automatically applied. There’s no need to restart your device, although you may want to check the apps don’t run at startup anymore. For even more control, it’s also worth checking settings menu for each individual app.
Related articles for further reading
How to customise Widgets on Windows 11 How to customise the Windows 11 Start menu How to get the Google Play Store on Windows 11
As the resident expert on Windows, Senior Staff Writer Anyron’s main focus is PCs and laptops. Much of the rest of his time is split between smartphones, tablets and audio, with a particular focus on Android devices.
