windows-10-universal-apps

Windows 10 still takes advantages of apps introduced through the Windows Store in Windows 8/8.1. In fact, Microsoft takes this concept one step further in Windows 10 with the introduction of its universal app platform.

As Windows 10 pushes the concept of Windows as a service to the max, Microsoft wants to make it easier for consumers to use the same apps no matter the platform.

Whether you don’t plan on using Windows universal apps or just don’t want the bloatware after a clean install of Windows 10, here’s the steps you need to follow to remove all bundled apps in the OS.

Removing All Bundled Apps in Windows 10

In order to remove all bundled apps in Windows 10, you’ll need to use PowerShell to do this.

open-windows-10-powershell

Search for “Powershell” and right-click on the result, then click on “Run as administrator.”

windows-10-powershell

You’ll enter the following command to remove all apps from your system account:

  • Get-AppXProvisionedPackage -online | Remove-AppxProvisionedPackage –online

This will also ensure all new accounts won’t come with the bundled universal apps.

If you want to remove bundled apps just from the account you’re logged into, use this command in Powershell:

  • Get-AppXPackage | Remove-AppxPackage

If you want to remove bundled apps from a specific account as an administrator, use this command and replaced <username> with the username of the account you want to remove apps from:

  • Get-AppXPackage -User | Remove-AppxPackage

This final command will remove universall apps from all accounts currently created on your PC:

  • Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage

You’ll notice that some apps can’t be uninstalled, such as Cortana, Photos, Edge, Feedback, and Settings.

The Windows Store app will be removed from Windows 10 with the above command. Keep that in mind in the event you want to install new apps, not bundled ones, in the future. You won’t be able to by using the above steps.

Add the Windows Store Back Without All the Windows 10 Bundled Apps

In order to reinstall the Windows Store and start using it again, you’ll open Powershell as an administrator and enter the following command:

  • Get-Appxpackage -Allusers

This won’t bring back the Window Store as easily as it should, so before you exit Powershell thinking your apps are back, you’ll want to look for the following entry in the Powershell output:

  • Microsoft.WindowsStore
  • PackageFamilyName

Now, run the following command:

  • Add-AppxPackage -register “C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\*\AppxManifest.xml” –DisableDevelopmentMode

Replace * with the PackageFamilyName you made note of above.

Thanks to WinAero for figuring this out for Windows 10 users.

Conclusion

Depending on how you use Windows 10, or if you’re performing a clean install, you may want to get rid of all bundled apps except the Windows Store to take control of what you use. These steps above show you how to do it and make it much easier to uninstall universal apps all at once instead of doing it one-by-one.