Microsoft is finally axing Windows 11’s MSN feed from widgets

Say goodbye to Windows 11’s unwanted MSN feed

Microsoft has announced that it is finally getting rid of Windows 11’s MSN News widget feed. With new Windows Insider builds, the MSN News Widget is gone. Better still, the Widget feed will only open when clicked, preventing it from opening on mere mouse hover. Yes, accidental widget tab opening is also gone!

Microsoft is working to make Windows 11 and its widgets “quiet by default”. This will minimise unexpected alerts and visual interruptions, making Windows 11 a calmer, more productive place.

Soon, Widgets will be a place where users choose what occupies that space. It won’t be an MSN feed that pollutes your Windows 11 experience with utter nonsense. This will go a long way towards making Windows 11 less annoying to use.

More control over widgets and feed experiences

One of the areas we’re looking at closely across the operating system is the idea of “calm”. When you’re designing an experience for over a billion users, what are the right defaults that are easy, simple, and limit distractions?

One of the most significant areas we’re addressing this is in Widgets and the Discover feed to make them quieter by default. We’re changing default settings for launching and badging so you have more control over when these experiences show up and when they’re allowed to seek your attention. When notifications do surface, we’re setting a higher bar to make sure they’re meaningful. We’re also continuing to separate Widgets and the Discover feed into more distinct destinations, with calmer defaults that give you more control of what you choose to see.

These improvements are rolling out today in the Experimental channel. We’ll soon also be reducing the default set of Widgets on lock to just Weather, putting customers in more control of curating the Widgets they want to see on lock.

(Comparing the in-market Windows 11 widget experience (left) with the new experience (right))

Changes to Windows 11’s widgets are part of Microsoft’s Windows K2 project. This is an ongoing project that aims to make Windows 11 faster and less frustrating to use. The project includes improvements to Windows Update, a faster UI, and decreased RAM utilisation. Its ongoing nature should also ensure continuous improvements to Windows 11 for the foreseeable future (Well… hopefully at least).

Microsoft knows that it needs to regain the trust of Windows users. Removing Windows 11’s MSN News feed and making Widgets less annoying are just a few of the ways that Microsoft aims to achieve that. Let’s hope that Microsoft can stick to this goal, as a small list of improvements won’t be enough to regain the trust of Windows’ user base.

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