How to Uninstall a Program on Windows 11

Remove an app from Windows 11 through Settings or the Start menu, and use Control Panel for older desktop programs that do not appear there.

A program you no longer use is taking up space or running in the background. Windows 11 removes both Store apps and traditional desktop programs from the same Settings page.

Open Installed apps

Press Windows + I, select Apps in the left sidebar, then click Installed apps. Every program on the PC is listed with its size and install date. On Windows 10 this page is called Apps & features.

Find the program

Type part of its name in the search box at the top of the list. You can also sort by size to find the biggest programs, or by install date to find something that arrived recently.

Uninstall it

Click the three-dot button on the right side of the entry and choose Uninstall. Confirm when Windows asks. Store apps disappear within a few seconds. Desktop programs open their own uninstaller, which may ask a few more questions before finishing.

If the Uninstall option is greyed out, the item is a built-in part of Windows that cannot be removed this way.

Uninstall from the Start menu instead

For a quicker route, open the Start menu, find the program under All apps, right-click it, and choose Uninstall. Store apps are removed immediately. For desktop programs this opens the Control Panel list described below, where you select the program and confirm.

If the program is not listed in Settings. Press Windows + R, type appwiz.cpl, and press Enter. This opens Programs and Features in Control Panel, which sometimes shows older programs or drivers that Settings misses. Select the entry and click Uninstall in the toolbar above the list.

If the uninstaller fails. Restart the PC and try again, since a running process from the program can block removal. If it still fails, the program's own website usually offers a removal tool.

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