Windows 10 comes pre-installed with a number of apps, including but not limited to Maps, People, Xbox, Photos, and Groove music. For these pre-installed apps, Windows 10 doesn’t provide any point-and-click way to uninstall them. But you can easily uninstall all those apps using a simple PowerShell command. So, if you ever want to, here is how you can uninstall the Windows 10 modern apps either individually or as a whole.
Note:
- Before doing anything, consider creating a manual Restore Point (Control Panel -> Recovery -> Configure System Restore -> System Protection tab -> Create) so that you can roll back if anything bad happens.
- Although you can remove almost all of the preinstalled apps, some mandatory apps like Cortana, Edge browser, Camera, Photos, Contact support, Feedback, etc. cannot be removed.
Not a PowerShell fan? You can use other ways to uninstall Windows apps, including Settings, File Explorer, or third-party uninstallers.
The Simple Method
Before moving onto the PowerShell, it’s worth remembering that a lot of Windows 10 apps can be removed the same way you’d remove any other app. As a general rule, any third-party apps – like Facebook and Twitter – can be removed normally, as can any games Microsoft foists on you (such as Minecraft and that incessant Candy Crush Saga).
So, to see if you can uninstall the apps you want the regular way, just right-click the Start button, then click “Apps and Features”, scroll down in the list to find the app you want to remove, click it then click “Uninstall” (if this options is greyed out, then read on for how to remove apps using PowerShell).
Uninstall Individual Apps in Windows 10 Using PowerShell
Using PowerShell, you can easily uninstall individual apps in Windows 10.
To start, search for PowerShell in your Start menu, right-click on it and select the option “Run as Administrator.” Alternatively, open the Command Prompt as administrator (press Win + X and then press A), type start powershell and press the Enter button.
Once you are in the PowerShell, use the below command to get a list of all the installed apps of the current user in your Windows 10 system.
Get-AppxPackage | ft Name, PackageFullName -AutoSize
If you want to get a list of all the apps of all the users, then use the below command.
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | ft Name, PackageFullName -AutoSize
In my case, I’m using the current user command so that I don’t mess up the other user account. As you can see, PowerShell nicely lists all your apps with its short name and the full package name.
Now, find the app you want to uninstall from the displayed list and jot down the name of the app from “PackageFullName.”
In my case, I want to uninstall the Xbox app, so the name of the app would be “Xboxapp.” Since we can use wildcards (*) before and after the app name in the PowerShell, you don’t need the full package name as long as part of the app name is correct.
Once you have the app name, paste the below command and press the Enter button to uninstall the app.
Get-AppxPackage *xboxapp* | Remove-AppxPackage
Of course, modify the above command according to what app you want to remove. All you have to do is swap the app name between the wildcards (*) or just enter the full package name.
Uninstall All Pre-Installed Apps in Windows 10 Using PowerShell
Besides the individual apps, if you just want to get rid of all the pre-installed apps, then you can do that as well. Just open the PowerShell as administrator, paste the below command in it and press the Enter button.
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage
The above action will initialize the uninstallation of all the pre-installed apps for all the users. The PowerShell window may display a bunch of errors with bright red text all over the screen. Just don’t freak out, as it is displaying errors regarding the apps it cannot uninstall.
Once uninstalled, your Start menu will look more cleaner then ever.
Futureproofing
That being said, even though you’ve uninstalled all the apps for all the users, every time you create a new user, the default apps will be reinstalled for that new user. You can stop this default behaviour of Windows by executing the below command in the PowerShell.
Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -online | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage -online
It is that simple to remove pre-installed apps in Windows 10.
Do comment below sharing your thoughts and experiences about using the above method to uninstall pre-installed modern apps in Windows 10.
Vamsi is a tech and WordPress geek who enjoys writing how-to guides and messing with his computer and software in general. When not writing for MTE, he writes for he shares tips, tricks, and lifehacks on his own blog Stugon.
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