For apps that show an active Uninstall command, Settings is the supported path to remove them in Windows 11: open the three-dot menu, click Uninstall, done. Try that on certain preinstalled apps, though, and Uninstall is grayed out or missing, with the app sometimes listed under System Components instead. Learning how to remove system apps in Windows 11 starts with understanding that label, because it often means removal isn't offered through the normal path for that particular app.
This guide covers the quick check that tells you which category an app falls into, what each category actually means, the exact Settings steps for apps you can remove, and what's worth doing with the ones you can't. A short section near the end covers IT admins managing Enterprise or Education fleets, who have a separate policy-based removal option that doesn't apply to Home or Pro users.
An active Uninstall button is a reasonably strong signal an app isn't a protected component. Windows 11 apps marked as System under the System Components heading generally aren't removable through Settings. Some exceptions, including Edge, Edge Update, and WebView2 Runtime, may be non-removable without showing up on that list at all, as Ars Technica's Windows cleanup guide explains. The sections below work through each case, including the ones that don't fit neatly into either bucket.
Quick check: is your app actually removable?
Before doing anything else, open Settings > Apps > Installed apps and search for the app by name. What you find there determines your next move.
Uninstall option is active in the three-dot menu: This is a reasonably strong sign it's an ordinary removable app, not a protected component. Remove it directly through Settings.
App appears under System Components: Windows generally blocks removal through Settings. Configure or disable its extras, or leave the package alone.
App isn't removable but also isn't listed under System Components: Edge, Edge Update, and WebView2 Runtime are examples. Leave them installed and adjust their settings instead.
Removal is available through a management policy: This applies to supported Enterprise or Education devices running Windows 11 version 24H2 or newer. It's an IT-admin option, not a standard feature of Home or Pro editions.
That third case matters because absence from the System Components list doesn't guarantee an app is deletable. Edge, Edge Update, and WebView2 Runtime illustrate that.
If Uninstall is missing and the app isn't listed under System Components either, treat it as non-removable through Settings until you have evidence otherwise. Don't delete the app's installation folder, change file ownership permissions, or run a PowerShell removal command just because it's absent from both lists.
Check the app's own settings page first for a repair, reset, or disable option before assuming anything more aggressive is safe.
How to remove system apps in Windows 11 safely
For anything Settings actually allows, removing unwanted preinstalled apps in Windows 11 takes four short steps.
Open Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
Find the app in the list and click the three-dot menu next to it.
If Uninstall is active, select it.
Confirm the removal when prompted.
Microsoft documents this process in its Windows app-uninstallation guidance.
If Uninstall is grayed out or doesn't appear at all, stop there. Don't go looking for a registry tweak or a forced-removal command in the moment. Check whether the app is under System Components using the categories above, then read on for the alternatives that are actually available.
Why an app is labeled System in Windows 11
An active Uninstall button is a reasonably strong signal Windows is treating the app like removable software. A listing under System Components means something different: Windows may still let you adjust the app's settings and behavior, but the option to delete the package is generally unavailable through the interface.
Don't confuse a missing uninstall option with technical impossibility. The restriction in Settings doesn't necessarily establish whether the package could be removed through other supported management methods.
Starting with Windows 11 23H2, Microsoft moved many non-removable apps into the System Components section. Phone Link, the Microsoft Store, Dev Home, and Game Bar were among the apps grouped there in earlier builds.
The classification separates apps Windows allows you to configure from apps it allows you to remove, and whatever you think of where Microsoft drew that line, it isn't a bug in the Settings UI. It's a deliberate grouping decision.
Microsoft's Enterprise and Education policy, covered further down, can remove selected preinstalled packages on managed devices. That's a difference in supported management capabilities, not proof that every package is untouchable on every edition.
What to do with apps you can't uninstall
Uninstalling protected System Components in Windows 11 generally isn't offered through Settings, but many of these apps still expose some configuration.
Open the options Windows exposes for the app from the Installed apps list. The available controls vary from one app to the next, but some System Components let you adjust notifications, background activity, or startup behavior where Windows offers those toggles.
Not every app surfaces all three options, so check each one on its own rather than assuming the same toggles exist across the board.
Unpinning an app from Start and the taskbar clears away visible clutter without touching the package. If the app shows up under Settings > Apps > Startup, turning it off there can keep it from launching at sign-in, though that control only appears for apps Windows surfaces in that list.
Windows 11 protected system component error 0x80073CFA
If an uninstall attempt returns error 0x80073CFA, the removal has failed, but the error code alone doesn't prove the app is a protected system component. A protection-related restriction is one possible cause, and the surrounding error message matters.
A Microsoft Q&A discussion describes this problem with preinstalled apps, but it isn't a formal diagnostic guide. If Windows identifies the package as protected, treat that as a reason to stop rather than trying to bypass the restriction with a forced command or registry edit.
Third-party "debloat" scripts look like a shortcut around all of this, and they're worth approaching cautiously. One test of the GitHub script Win11Debloat found it classified Bing Translator, Bing Weather, Windows Tools, and Quick Assist as removable apps, even though the tester used them regularly, according to Make Tech Easier's assessment.
Some debloat approaches attempt to modify protected system files or settings. Getting past those protections can require loosening permissions that exist to prevent unwanted changes to Windows.
The same reporting lists missing system files, registry errors, and update failures as potential risks of running unverified debloat scripts, separate from what the app-classification test itself demonstrated.
Create a restore point before making significant system changes. A restore point isn't a substitute for a full backup, especially when modifying or removing system packages.
For IT admins: a separate removal path exists on managed devices
Everything above covers the standard Settings experience on a personal machine. Admins running Enterprise or Education fleets have a different, policy-based option.
Microsoft provides a policy called Remove default Microsoft Store packages from the system, available through CSP, Group Policy, and Microsoft Intune.
According to Microsoft's policy-based app removal documentation, the feature supports Windows 11 Enterprise and Education, version 24H2 or newer. Microsoft's 25H2 release notes also identify the feature as part of that release's enterprise management capabilities.
The policy is off by default. Once enabled and configured with specific apps, Windows removes selected preinstalled packages through a supported management mechanism rather than a third-party script.
Admins can select apps from Microsoft's predefined list and, where supported, specify additional MSIX or APPX package family names. Removed apps are also blocked from reinstallation while they remain selected in the policy.
Home and Pro editions don't support this policy. Administrators should review the supported package list and test the configuration before deploying it widely.
Admins building or generalizing a Windows image run into a different problem: a package installed for one user but not provisioned for all can cause Sysprep validation to fail with error 0x80073CF2.
That's a separate, imaging-specific issue unrelated to the consumer uninstall steps above. Microsoft documents both the cause and remediation in its official guide to Sysprep failures involving Microsoft Store apps.
What to do now
Check the app in Settings first. Remove it when Windows shows an active Uninstall command. If it's listed under System Components, or it's one of the unlisted exceptions like Edge, disable what controls are available and leave the package itself alone unless Microsoft provides a supported removal method.
Admins managing supported Enterprise or Education fleets should pilot the removal policy in Intune or Group Policy on a test group before rolling it out across the rest of their devices.
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