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Microsoft is finally giving up on showing the junk feed of MSN news when you open the widgets feature in Windows 11. After allowing Windows 11 users to disable the MSN feed more than two years ago, Microsoft says it will soon hide it by default as part of an effort to make widgets “quiet by default.”
“We’re working to make Widgets feel less distracting and overwhelming by making the experience quiet by default,” says Microsoft. “To do this, we’re testing a new set of default settings designed to reduce unexpected alerts and visual interruptions.”
Microsoft is planning to disable the widgets panel opening when you hover over its taskbar item, alongside turning off distracting taskbar badges by default. The widgets panel will open to widgets instead of the MSN feed by default, and Microsoft will also limit “taskbar alerts until you choose to open and engage with the Widgets experience.”
These changes should make the taskbar a little less annoying, especially as the widgets section would often have notifications for stocks, weather, or MSN news by default. Hopefully it will make widgets in Windows a more useful part of the operating system, instead of something that many users have avoided.
The changes are part of Microsoft’s ongoing effort to improve Windows 11. Microsoft is removing “unneccessary” Copilot buttons from apps, modernizing the Run prompt, fixing File Explorer performance, and improving the memory footprint of Windows. The changes are rolling out each month throughout 2026.