A MakeUseOf contributor recently discovered that removing or disabling five built-in Windows apps reclaimed over 1.5GB of storage and, more importantly, eliminated the sluggishness that had plagued his PC. The change wasn’t subtle — after the cleanup, the machine responded like it had just been unboxed, with faster boot times and snappier application launches.

The experiment, first reported by MakeUseOf, involved five apps that many of us rarely touch but that run constantly in the background: OneDrive, Phone Link, Microsoft Teams, the Xbox app, and Windows Widgets. These aren’t obscure bloatware add-ons; they’re deeply integrated into Windows 11, often set to launch at startup and sync data or update in the background by default.

What’s Really Happening Under the Hood

The 1.5GB figure is just the tip of the iceberg. Yes, removing these apps frees up disk space, but the real performance killer is how they tax system resources. Each of these apps runs background processes that consume memory, CPU cycles, and network bandwidth — even when you’re not using them.

  • OneDrive runs a sync client that constantly monitors file changes, indexing and uploading to the cloud. On a PC with a spinning hard drive or limited RAM, this can cause noticeable lag during file operations.
  • Phone Link maintains a persistent Bluetooth and network connection to your smartphone, polling for notifications, messages, and photos. It’s convenient, but it adds a service host process that can spike CPU usage.
  • Microsoft Teams is notorious for its memory footprint and its insistence on loading at startup. The personal version included with Windows 11 often runs in parallel with the work/school version, duplicating resource usage.
  • The Xbox app downloads game updates and maintains a background service even if you’ve never launched it; it also ties into Game Bar and Xbox Game Pass services.
  • Widgets may look like a static panel, but they fetch live data from the web — weather, news, stocks — using WebView2, which is essentially a mini Edge browser running all the time. That can eat 100–200MB of RAM and occasionally spike the CPU.

When these five apps run simultaneously, the cumulative effect on a modest PC can be severe. The MakeUseOf writer noted that after cleanup, the PC “stopped feeling sluggish,” with faster responsiveness in everyday tasks. This aligns with what many power users have long argued: Windows 11’s default configuration prioritizes feature richness over lean performance.

What This Means for You: Home Users, Power Users, and IT Pros

The impact of these apps varies depending on who you are and how you use your PC.

For Home Users

If you bought a budget laptop with 4GB or 8GB of RAM and an eMMC drive, these background apps can make the difference between a usable machine and a frustrating one. The 1.5GB storage saving is significant on a 64GB drive, but the memory and CPU relief is even more critical. Disabling these apps can extend the life of aging hardware and make Windows 11 feel lighter, like a traditional desktop OS instead of a service-laden platform.

For Power Users

You likely know how to disable startup programs, but the MakeUseOf experiment highlights that even savvy users can overlook some of these. Widgets, for example, doesn’t appear in the typical Task Manager startup tab — it’s a toggle in the Widgets settings. And Teams’ startup behavior is buried in its own settings, not system settings. The 1.5GB benchmark also gives you a concrete target when debloating: removing these five apps alone can reclaim that much, and using tools like WinDirStat or Storage Sense can help you find more.

For IT Professionals

In managed environments, many of these apps are already restricted via Group Policy or Intune. However, the Teams personal app often isn’t managed, and users may install it separately. The Xbox services can also be disabled via PowerShell or policy. The key takeaway is that these apps are not always harmless; they can degrade the perceived performance of devices, leading to more support tickets. Testing a baseline image without them could improve user satisfaction and reduce helpdesk calls.

How We Got Here: A Timeline of Windows Bloat

Windows has always had a complicated relationship with pre-installed software. In the Windows 8 era, Microsoft started baking more first-party apps into the OS — not as optional downloads, but as core components. With Windows 10, the “Windows as a Service” model meant that these apps could be updated via the Store and were often pinned to the Start menu by default.

By the time Windows 11 launched, the list had grown. Widgets replaced the beloved Live Tiles, Teams was integrated into the taskbar, and OneDrive backup prompts became a fixture of the out-of-box experience. The official reasoning: these apps provide a seamless, connected experience that Apple and Google also offer. The reality: many users never asked for them, and they contribute to the perception that Windows is bloated and resource-hungry.

Microsoft has made some concessions. In recent Insider builds, users can remove more of these apps via Settings without resorting to PowerShell. For example, in Windows 11 Build 25309, the “Remove” option for Camera and Photos appeared, and rumors suggest more built-in apps will become uninstallable. The MakeUseOf experiment, however, shows that even with current stable builds, a lot can be done manually — and the payoff is immediate.

Your 10-Minute Performance Tune-Up: Step by Step

Based on the apps that the MakeUseOf writer targeted, here’s exactly how to reclaim that 1.5GB and reduce background activity. Perform these steps on a personal device; consult your IT department on a work machine.

OneDrive

  1. Right-click the OneDrive icon in the system tray and select Settings.
  2. Uncheck “Start OneDrive automatically when I sign in to Windows.”
  3. If you want to remove it entirely, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Microsoft OneDrive, click the three dots, and select Uninstall. This removes the sync engine but leaves your cloud files intact. You can still access them via the web.
  1. Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
  2. Find Phone Link and uninstall it. If the uninstall button is grayed out, you may need to remove the Phone Link Experience Host package via PowerShell:
    Get-AppxPackage *YourPhone* | Remove-AppxPackage
  3. Note that this will permanently break the Phone Link feature unless you reinstall from the Store.

Microsoft Teams (personal)

  1. In Teams, click the three dots by your profile picture and select Settings.
  2. Uncheck “Auto-start Teams.”
  3. To uninstall, go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps, find Microsoft Teams (personal) and hit uninstall. Be aware that a separate work/school Teams may exist; this targets the consumer version.

Xbox App and Services

  1. Uninstall the Xbox app from Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
  2. To truly stop all Xbox services, open Services.msc (use Win+R, type services.msc) and set the following to Disabled:
    • Xbox Accessory Management Service
    • Xbox Live Auth Manager
    • Xbox Live Game Save
    • Xbox Live Networking Service
  3. If you never game, you can also disable Game Bar: Settings > Gaming > Game Bar, toggle off.

Widgets

  1. Open Widgets panel (Win+W), click your profile picture, and disable the toggle for “Open Widgets on hover.”
  2. To prevent them from running entirely, go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar, and toggle off Widgets.
  3. For a more thorough removal, you can use this PowerShell command:
    Get-AppxPackage *WebExperience* | Remove-AppxPackage
    This removes the entire Widgets platform but may be reverted by a future update. Alternatively, use the group policy “Allow widgets” under Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Widgets.

After completing these steps, restart your PC. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) and compare the number of background processes and memory usage before and after. You should see a noticeable drop. If you miss any functionality — like cloud sync or game captures — you can selectively reinstall or re-enable those services.

What’s Next for Windows Bloat

Microsoft is aware of the performance complaints. The upcoming Windows 11 23H2 update is expected to introduce more modularity, allowing users to remove more inbox apps without PowerShell. Rumor has it that even Microsoft Edge might become uninstallable in certain regions, complying with the Digital Markets Act. Meanwhile, third-party tools like O&O ShutUp10++ and Chris Titus Tech’s Windows Utility offer one-click debloating for those who want even more control.

The MakeUseOf experiment reinforces a simple truth: a lean Windows is a fast Windows. Whether you spend five minutes disabling startup items or an hour stripping out unused components, the performance gains are real — and now quantifiable at 1.5GB and a perceptibly livelier PC. Microsoft may not ship a truly minimal Windows, but with a bit of effort, you can create one yourself.