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How to Disable Background Apps in Windows 11/10

By: Sam Patwegar | Updated: May 3, 2024

The default tendency in apps like OneDrive, Skype, Microsoft Teams and certain other Apps is to continue running in background, even when they are not actively being used.

While this feature is designed to make apps ready and available for immediate use, allowing multiple apps to continue running in the background can lead to excessive resource usage, which inturn can have an adverse impact on the performance of your device.

Hence, Windows provides the option to Disable Background Running Apps and prevent them from using up resources on your computer.

Disable Background Apps in Windows 11/10

You can find below different methods to disable background running apps and prevent them from using up resources on your computer.

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1. Stop Background Apps Using Settings

The Settings App in Windows 11 provides the option to prevent selected Apps from running in background.

1. Open Settings > select Apps in the left-pane and click on Installed Apps in the right-pane.

Installed Apps Settings Screen in Windows 11

2. On Installed Apps screen, click on 3-dots icon next to the App Name and click on Advanced options.

Open Advanced Options for Apps in Windows 11

3. On the next screen, scroll down to “Background App Permissions section” and set Let this App Run in Background to Never option.

Prevent Microsoft Teams from Running in Background

Similarly, you can prevent Skype, OneDrive and other Apps from running in background.

2. Stop Background Apps Using Battery Usage

The only way to take a look at all background running Apps in Windows 11 is by going to Battery Usage screen.

1. Open Settings > select System in the (left-pane) and click on Power & Battery card in the right-pane.

Power And Battery Settings Option in Windows 11

2. On Power & Battery screen, you can Sort by Background to see the list of Apps running in backgrund on your computer.

View Apps Using Battery in Background on Windows PC

3. Next, click on 3-dots icon next to the App that you want to prevent from running in background and select Manage Background Activity option.

Manage Background Activity option in Windows Settings

4. On the next screen, you can prevent this particular App from running in Background by selecting the Never option for Let this App Run in Background option.

Prevent Paint App from Running in Background

After this, you should no longer find this App from using the Battery for Background activities.

3. Stop All Background Apps in Windows 11

Unlike Windows 10, there is no option in Windows 11 to prevent All App from running in background. However, it is still possible to prevent all Apps from running in background in Windows 11 by using Registry editor.

1. Right-click on the Start button and click on Run.

2. In the Run Command window, type regedit and click on OK.

Open Registry Editor Using Run Command

3. On Registry Editor screen, navigate to  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\BackgroundAccessApplications.

4. Select BackgroundAccessApplications folder in the left-pane. In the right-pane, look for GlobalUserDisabled entry. If it is not there, right-click and select New > DWORD (32-bit) value option.

Create New DWORD in BackgroundAccessApplications Entry

5. Name the New DWORD as GlobalUserDisabled > Double Click on it > Set its Value data to 1 and click on OK to save this change.

Stop All Background Apps in Windows 11 Using Registry

6. After this, close the Registry Editor and sign out from the computer to apply this change to your user account.

Note: You can undo this change at any time by changing the GlobalUserDisabled value to 0 or by deleting it from the Registry.

Disable All Background Apps for All Users in Windows 11

You can prevent Apps from Running in Background for all Users on your computer by using Registry Editor.

1. Open the Registry Editor on your computer by pressing Win + R keys (or by using regedit command).

2. On the Registry Editor screen, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\AppPrivacy.

3. In the right pane, create a New 32 bit DWORD value > Name it as LetAppsRunInBackground and set its Value Data to 2.

4. Close the Registry Editor and Restart the computer to implement this change.

This way you can prevent All Apps from Running in Background on All User Accounts on your computer.

Note: If AppPrivacy is missing, you will have to manually create this entry.

Sam Patwegar

10+ years experience in writing fluff-free troubleshooting guides with just the right and required amount of related information. Equally capable of In-depth technical writing.

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