Windows 11 Widgets: Open, Customize or Hide the Board

Windows 11 widgets are the small cards (weather, calendar, stocks, sports scores, photos and more) that slide out from the left side of the screen. Some people check them every morning; others never open them and only notice the weather icon on the taskbar. This guide covers both: how to open and arrange the Widgets board so it is actually useful, how to switch off the news feed, and how to hide Widgets from the taskbar altogether.

The steps apply to Windows 11 version 24H2, 25H2 and 26H2. Microsoft updates the Widgets board through the Microsoft Store as well as through Windows Update, so small details can change between months; the settings described here are the ones Microsoft documents.

What the Widgets board is

Microsoft describes widgets as cards that each belong to an app and show related information and actions, refreshed throughout the day. They are meant for a quick glance, not to replace the full app: the calendar widget shows today’s events, but you still open Outlook or Calendar to edit them.

The board has two parts:

Part	What it shows	Can you turn it off?
Pinned widgets	The cards you choose: weather, calendar, to-do, photos, stocks, sports and widgets from other apps	Remove any you do not want
Discover	A curated news stream that Microsoft calls the Discover dashboard	Yes, in Widgets settings

The taskbar entry usually shows the current weather. When something important happens in one of your widgets or dashboards, it can briefly show an announcement instead, then return to the weather.

How to open Windows 11 widgets

Microsoft lists three ways:

• Keyboard: press Windows key + W.
• Taskbar: select the Widgets area, usually the weather on the left of the taskbar.
• Touch: swipe in from the left edge of the screen.

If you hide Widgets from the taskbar, the shortcut and swipe still work. There is also an option called Open Widgets board on hover in the Widgets settings, if you want the board to open when the mouse rests on the taskbar icon. Many people find that annoying and leave it off.

Add, arrange and customize widgets

Open the board and use these controls:

1. Add a widget: select the + button to open the widget picker, choose a widget and pin it. Apps can supply their own widgets, and Microsoft points to the Widgets page in the Microsoft Store for more.
2. Move a widget: drag it by its header to a new position in the pinned section.
3. Resize a widget: select its more options button (three dots) and choose Small, Medium or Large. Some widgets offer fewer sizes.
4. Customize a widget: select more options > Customize widget, for example to change the city for weather or edit a stock watchlist.
5. Remove a widget: select more options > Remove widget.

A layout that works well for many people: weather and calendar at the top, a to-do list next to them, and one or two hobby widgets such as sports results. Fewer, bigger widgets are easier to read at a glance than a wall of small ones.

Turn off the Discover news feed

If the news stories are what bother you, you do not need to hide Widgets entirely:

1. Open the Widgets board and select the settings button on the navigation bar.
2. Under Dashboards, switch Discover to Off.

Your pinned widgets stay. If you keep Discover on, you can shape it instead: hide individual stories, use More like this and Fewer like this, and manage topics and publishers from the Following and Blocked tabs. Microsoft notes the feed adapts over time, so changes may not show at once.

Control taskbar badges and announcements

Under More settings > Notifications in the Widgets settings you can turn notification badges on or off for the taskbar and the navigation bar, and choose notifications per dashboard. Microsoft also notes that during a focus session, announcements and badges do not appear on the taskbar, which you can start from the Clock app or the notification center.

Hide Widgets from the taskbar

To remove the weather and Widgets button from the taskbar:

1. Right-click an empty part of the taskbar and select Taskbar settings (this opens Settings > Personalization > Taskbar).
2. Under Taskbar items, switch Widgets off.

Nothing is uninstalled; Windows key + W still opens the board. The same page controls the other taskbar buttons, as covered in our Windows 11 taskbar settings guide. If you also want fewer suggestions and promotions elsewhere in Windows, see disable Windows 11 ads and suggestions.

Accounts, region and privacy

By default, Discover uses your Microsoft account preferences, which keeps your news choices consistent across PCs where you sign in with the same account. You can sign out of Discover or switch accounts from the user account button on the board under Manage accounts.

Discover’s language and content follow your Windows display language and Country or region settings, and you can change them from the user account button under Region and Language.

On privacy, Microsoft says:

• Diagnostic data from the Widgets board follows your Windows diagnostic data settings.
• Each widget follows the privacy settings of the app that supplies it; check the Powered by note under More on a widget.
• Some widgets use location estimation, from the Windows location service if it is on, otherwise from your IP address.

Our Windows 11 privacy settings guide covers the location and diagnostic data switches.

If Widgets is blank or will not open

1. Update the apps. Microsoft says Widgets and Discover need the latest Windows Web Experience Pack and Start Experiences App updates. Open the Microsoft Store, go to Library and select Get updates.
2. Install Windows updates in Settings > Windows Update, then restart.
3. Check your connection. Widgets fetch their content online; without internet, cards stay empty.
4. Check the account. If personalised content is missing, open the user account button on the board and make sure you are signed in to the account you expect.

If Windows itself feels slow when the board opens, the cause is usually elsewhere; start with why Windows 11 is slow. For more built-in features worth knowing, see the Windows 11 features guide.