Instructions to Disable background applications in Windows 10

On Windows 10, many apps you download from the Microsoft Store will continue to run in the background to take advantage of additional features, such as the ability to download data, update Live Tiles, and display notifications.

While these features can be useful in some situations, background apps (even when you don't start them) can drain battery, waste bandwidth and system resources. Luckily, if updating apps isn't something important to you, then Windows 10 has settings to control which apps are allowed to work in the background.

In this Windows 10 guide, we will guide you through the steps to prevent apps from running in the background.

1. Turn off Windows 10 background apps using Settings.
2. Use Registry Editor to disable Windows 10 background apps.
3. Shut down Windows 10 background apps using Command Prompt.
4. Use Windows PowerShell to disable Windows 10 background apps.

Turn off Windows 10 background apps using Settings:

Step 1. Open the Start menu and type Settings in the search bar. Click the Settings app to continue.

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Step 2: In the Settings menu, click on the Privacy tab with the padlock icon.

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Step 3. Scroll down to the Background apps menu under the Privacy tab and click it to bring up the Settings.

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Step 4. You can turn off all background apps with the main switch at the top, or you can turn off individual apps that consume more power and data.

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Step 5. Shutting down all applications will significantly save energy and bandwidth.

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2. Use Registry Editor to turn off Windows 10 background apps:

Step 1. Open the Start menu and type run into the search bar. Click the Run application to continue.

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Step 2. Type regedit in the Run command bar and click OK to continue.

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Step 3. Windows will prompt you for permission to open Registry Editor. In Registry Editor, type the command below in a highlighted space and press Enter.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/BackgroundAccessApplications

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Step 4. Right-click on the BackgroundAccessApplication menu and choose New. Click DWORD (32-bit) Value to create a new entry.

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Step 5. The new entry will prompt you to rename it. Type in GlobalUserDisabled and click anywhere to save it.

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Step 6. Right-click on the newly created entry and choose Modify.

Step 7. Change the Value data: from 0 to 1 and click OK to save the changes.
0 = Background apps enabled
1 = Background apps turned off

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3. Turn off Windows 10 background apps with Command Prompt:

Step 1. Open the Start menu and type cmd in the search bar. Right-click on the Command Prompt application and select Run as administrator.

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Step 2. Enter the command below into the Command Prompt and press Enter to save the changes.
Reg Add HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionBackgroundAccessApplications / v GlobalUserDisabled / t REG_DWORD / d 1 / f

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Step 3. If you want to revert changes and re-enable background apps, follow the command below:

Reg Add HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionBackgroundAccessApplications / v GlobalUserDisabled / t REG_DWORD / d 0 / f

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Use Windows PowerShell to disable Windows 10 background apps:

Step 1. Open the Start menu and type powershell into the search bar. Click the Windows PowerShell application to continue.

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Step 2. Enter the command below into the Command Prompt and press Enter to save the changes.

Reg Add HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionBackgroundAccessApplications / v GlobalUserDisabled / t REG_DWORD / d 1 / f

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Step 3. If you want to revert changes and re-enable background apps, follow the command below:

Reg Add HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionBackgroundAccessApplications / v GlobalUserDisabled / t REG_DWORD / d 0 / f

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With these steps, you can disable or enable background apps in Windows 10 at will. You can do it individually through Settings, or you can enable / disable all apps through Command Prompt, PowerShell or Registry Editor in Windows 10.

David Pac

Update 18 August 2020