- To disable Windows 11 background apps, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, click the menu button next to the app and select “Advanced options,” and then select “Never” from the “Let this app run in the background” setting under the “Background apps permissions.”
On Windows 11, apps from the Microsoft Store can continue to run in the background to download data and provide notifications for updates, but you can prevent them from running in the background to save battery and system resources, and in this guide, you will learn how.
In previous versions of the operating system, the “Privacy” settings included a page to change whether apps should run in the background globally or per application, but this is no longer the case on Windows 11. In this new version, you need to configure the background permissions per app individually through the “Installed apps” settings page.
In this guide, you will learn the steps to decide which application should keep running in the background on Windows 11.
Disable background apps on Windows 11
To stop apps from running in the background on Windows 11, use these steps:
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Open Settings on Windows 11.
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Click on Apps.
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Click the Installed apps tab.
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Click the menu (three-dots) button for the app to disable background settings and click on Advanced options.
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Under the “Background apps permissions” section, use the “Let this app run in the background” setting and select the Never option.
Quick note: The default option is “Power optimized,” meaning that Windows 11 will manage the app automatically. The Always option can be used to allow an app to always run in the background. -
Repeat steps 6 and 7 to change the background permissions for other Microsoft Store apps.
Once you complete the steps, the app you configured will no longer run in the background on Windows 11.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].