Microsoft finally allows turning off news in Windows Widgets, but beware of bugs

A couple of days ago, users noticed that the latest Windows Web Experience Pack allowed turning off news in Windows Widgets. We published a detailed guide explaining how to get the much-requested toggle on any Windows 11 version, not just preview builds. And now, Microsoft is officially rolling out the ability to disable the default news feed to Windows Insiders.

Microsoft announced the change as a part of the latest Windows 11 preview build in the Beta Channel (KB5032286, build number 22635.2841). However, Microsoft says the updated widget board is rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Canary, Dev, and Beta Channels. Since the rollout is gradual, not every user can access it right away. Luckily, you can force-enable it using the ViVeTool app.

If you are a Dev or Canary Insider, all you have to do is update to the latest Web Experience Pack and toggle on a single feature ID as described in our guide. But if you are on the Beta Channel, getting those sweet widget updates requires two more IDs: 42880174 and 44281626 (via @PhantomOfEarth on X).

It is also worth noting that the current implementation is a bit glitchy, so you will encounter a few rough surfaces after toggling off the news feed. Those include stuck widgets, loading delays, broken keyboard navigation, incorrect fonts, and more. Here is the official list of known issues:

• The Microsoft 365, Outlook Calendar, and To Do widgets get stuck in an error state when the Microsoft Start feed is disabled.

• You may experience a loading delay when the Microsoft Start feed is reenabled.

• Announcements from the Microsoft Start feed are still shown on the taskbar after the feed is hidden.

• The Widgets Board should automatically close and reopen when enabling or disabling feeds.

• Keyboard navigation from settings subpages back to the top-level Settings page is broken.

• Incorrect spacing and fonts used in some settings pages.

In addition to toggling news on or off, the latest widgets update lets you sign in with a different account to power widgets and feeds. With that change, Windows Widgets are no longer tied to the Microsoft Account you use to sign into Windows.