How Do I Keep MS From Installing New Apps Without My Permission?

Hello guys and gals,

My hard drive used space jumped from 15.9 Gbs to 16.4 GBs (for no apparent reason) while I was just sitting at my PC.

So I used WizTree to find any recently created files and that search led me to these two new apps being installed:



Is there any way to keep Microsoft from deciding which apps are best for me?

Thanks,

aardvark

This is a difficult one from a legal and technical point of view, Due to the fact that the user never actually owns windows - They purchase a licence to use it under strict conditions ans actually agree to Microsoft's right to modify the code as they please The End User Licence Agreement that you have to agree to to install windows contains quite a few of these possible problem points

It may be possible to uninstall these additional unwanted games using the uninstall option on the right click menu on the app which may be available.

Where these apps do not have uninstall options there are techniques that can still achieve this

All apps in Start menu - Add or Remove Items in Windows 10 - Windows 10 blog

and also CCleanerfrom Piriform has some ability also

Of course even if you do remove them there is a possibility that they will return with a future "Update"

Hi Barman58,

Thank you for your prompt and detailed response. I guess that digital entitlement license (as you so eloquently described it) is the "gotcha" here. So, I will take your implied advice and just uninstall new apps as they appear. Thanks a bunch!

aardvark

My hard drive used space jumped from 15.9 Gbs to 16.4 GBs (for no apparent reason) while I was just sitting at my PC.

So I used WizTree to find any recently created files and that search led me to these two new apps being installed:

Microsoft doesn't just install apps by themselves (other than apps that come with the default Windows install). Someone must have installed them. Regardless, those two apps aren't going to account for 500MB of disk space (Apps are typically very small)

Are you sure that nobody else has used your computer?

I did hear that these two games were due to be part of the standard Windows 10 Home install, which would explain them but not the delivery method. I use either Pro or Enterprise so have no personal experience of Home versions

Microsoft doesn't just install apps by themselves (other than apps that come with the default Windows install). Someone must have installed them. Regardless, those two apps aren't going to account for 500MB of disk space (Apps are typically very small)

Are you sure that nobody else has used your computer?

Hi Mystere,

Well then, the boogie man must have done it! This happened while I was sitting right at my computer. No one else uses it but me. I did nothing but browse a few folders in between the time the new apps were not there and the time I noticed the increase in used space. I never said the apps used 500 MBs of space but that was the trigger for me to look. Nobody installed them.

I did hear that these two games were due to be part of the standard Windows 10 Home install, which would explain them but not the delivery method. I use either Pro or Enterprise so have no personal experience of Home versions

They showed up on my desktop Pro version. No sign of them on my laptop Home version yet (which is sitting right in back of me that no one else uses).

Hi Mystere,

Well then, the boogie man must have done it! This happened while I was sitting right at my computer. No one else uses it but me. I did nothing but browse a few folders in between the time the new apps were not there and the time I noticed the increase in used space. I never said the apps used 500 MBs of space but that was the trigger for me to look. Nobody installed them.

I just remembered that I did click Windows Update and it downloaded a few Defender definition updates.

Regardless, those two apps aren't going to account for 500MB of disk space (Apps are typically very small)

Just for the record, I uninstalled those two mystery apps and I recovered 500 MBs of disk space:



Which essentially puts me back to where I started before the apps were mysteriously installed.