After Microsoft had already announced in the middle of last year that the news feed of the widget feature embedded in Windows 11 would be switched off in the future, the time has now come: With the recently released update KB5034765, the previous profile symbol should be in the widgets of the operating system into a gear symbol and, via a new settings dialog, offer the option of turning off the function that many users find annoying. According to Golem’s colleagues, however, it may be that the “Windows Web Experience Pack” must first be updated via the Microsoft Store before the new setting option with the gear symbol appears.
Windows 11 widgets: How to turn off the news
In the new settings dialog after installing the update KB5034765, you can switch off the news feed by clicking on the line “Show or hide feeds” and using the new “Microsoft Start” option there. After switching off the option and restarting the widgets, the news reports should then have disappeared from the widgets, as Golem’s colleagues tried out in their own experiment.
Windows 11: Microsoft implements EU law
According to the report, the change to the news widget function comes as part of the requirements of the European Union (EU) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which came into force at the end of 2022, and which requires dominant companies to make such adjustments their core products. As part of this, Microsoft’s Chromium browser Edge will soon be able to be completely uninstalled in this country and thus removed from Windows 11. Meanwhile, Microsoft had also installed a news feed in the taskbar for Windows 10 in the past, but it is easier to switch off.