You can't escape pre-installed apps when buying a pre-built desktop or laptop. The computer manufacturer installs its own partner apps and optimization utilities, andMicrosoft includes its fair share of built-in apps—some useful and others that most of us will never use. Despite the real problem of bloat, it's a bad idea to debloat your Windows PC.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't uninstall such apps, but that you should be cautious of what you use to do it. A third-party utility or a random PC optimization script you found on GitHub can cause more harm than good. Debloating is possible, but only if you do it right.
What is debloating?
It's not a magic wand
Microsoft's venerable OS has always had a bad reputation for bloating the system with more features than an average person needs—features that make sense for enterprise users. And because people use Windows differently, over the years, the problem has gotten worse with all the additional services that the company and its OEM partners started shipping with the PCs you paid for. At its core, bloat is anything that consumes system resources without offering value and isn't easy for you to turn off.
Enter debloating utilities and scripts that promise to fix this issue by removing pre-installed apps, disabling services, and even tinkering with the Windows registry. These tools are often marketed as performance optimization solutions, but they're solving yesterday's problems with today's hardware. Many of these PC optimization utilities might have been useful when mechanical drives were the standard and 4GB of RAM was common on most PCs. But on modern systems with SSDs and ample memory, the performance gains from aggressive debloating are negligible.
The real issue is that these tools don't just remove apps—they dig deep into Windows' core components. They modify registry entries, disable system services, and delete files that Windows expects to find. What starts as spring-cleaning can quickly turn into a nightmare.
Why debloating is a bad idea
A lot can go wrong with debloating
While the idea of optimizing your PC sounds like a good move,a lot can go wrong when you debloat your Windows computer. I've seen debloating scripts completely break the Microsoft Store, making it impossible to download or update apps. Windows Update stops working because critical background services get disabled. The Taskbar becomes unresponsive, File Explorer crashes randomly, and the Start menu refuses to open.
If all the debloating did was remove your widgets sidebar or break your desktop layout, a quick restart would likely fix everything. However, sometimes you'll need to perform a reset or even a full reinstall to get your PC back to its original state. The worst I've seen a debloating script do on my system was break File Explorer entirely—the Start menu and Taskbar became unresponsive, and I had to use System Restore to undo the damage. But a situation can go from bad to worse in no time if the script touches parts of Windows it shouldn't.
Many of these issues might not even show up immediately. Your PC might seem fine after debloating, then weeks later, you discover you can't install a critical update or that a security feature stopped working. By then, you might not even remember what you changed, making troubleshooting more challenging.
What to do instead
Do a manual cleanup
Instead of running automated scripts orthird-party optimization utilities that can mess up your PC, I do a manual cleanup. This takes more time, but it's much safer, and you actually understand what you're removing.
Toremove bloatware from your Windows PC, start with the obvious culprits. Open theStartmenu, right-click the apps you don't want, and selectUninstall. Then go toSettings > Apps > Installed apps to see everything on your PC. Sort by install date to find pre-installed apps you've never used. Uninstall them one by one, since Windows still doesn't offer a way to batch-remove apps.
Next,clean up your startup apps. Open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), click theStartup apps tab, and disable anything you don't need running at boot. This will make a noticeable difference in startup times, unlike most debloating tweaks. Focus on third-party apps here; leave Windows services alone unless you're sure what they do.
For privacy tweaks, again, it's best to manually configure your settings rather than letting a script do it. Go toSettings > Privacy & security and work through each category. You canmake Windows 11 respect your privacy by turning off location tracking, reviewing app permissions, disabling telemetry where possible, and switching off personalized ads. These changes give you reasonable control over your data without breaking system functionality.
If storage space is your concern, use Windows' built-in tools first. Storage Sense (Settings > System > Storage) can automatically clean temporary files, old Windows installations, and other safe-to-delete items. It's conservative but effective, and it won't delete anything Windows needs to function properly.
If it works, don't fix it
It's not wise to go tinkering with a computer that works perfectly fine for you. If you find anything bothersome, like the built-in apps, constant notifications, or privacy settings, it's better to take your time and do a manual cleanup as needed.
By opting for nuke-the-bloat scripts, you're likely to break more than you fix for a negligible performance boost. Modern Windows has gotten better at managing resources, and that pre-installed app you never open isn't slowing down your system. It's just sitting there using a tiny bit of disk space, and can be uninstalled with a workaround.
