With recent updates, Microsoft has started showing notifications related to your account and various Microsoft services such as Microsoft 365, OneDrive, etc., within the Start menu. Typically, you will see these notifications as a pop-up when you open the Start menu or click your username. For unread notifications, you will see a notification badge (small dot) on your user account picture in the Start menu. While some of these notifications can be useful, they can still be annoying to see as soon as you open the Start menu. After all, Windows 11 has a dedicated notification area to display notifications. However, Microsoft chose to display them within the Start menu.
Like me, if you don’t like these Start menu notifications, you can disable them quite easily. In this tutorial, I will show you two ways to disable notifications in the Start menu of Windows 11. Let’s get started!
Disable Start Menu Notifications in Windows 11 Using Settings
- Use Windows key + I shortcut to open Settings.
- Go to the Personalization tab on the sidebar.
- Click the Start option.
- Turn OFF the Show account related notifications occasionally in Start toggle.
- Close the Settings window.
- Restart your computer.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
As always, use the Windows key + I to open the Settings app. Alternatively, right-click the Start button and select Settings. Once it opens, go to the Personalization tab on the sidebar and click the Start option in the right panel.
Scroll down on this page and turn OFF the Show account related notifications occasionally in Start toggle. This is the option that lets you control the notifications in Start.
After that, close the Settings app by clicking the X icon on the title bar, and restart your computer. Once restarted, you will not see notifications in the Start menu.
Disable Start Menu Notifications in Windows 11 Using Registry
Important Note: You need administrator rights to edit the Windows Registry. Back up the registry before making changes to it.
In case the Settings method is not working, as an alternative, follow the registry method below:
- Press the Start button.
- Search and open the Registry Editor.
- Go to the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced” folder in the registry.
- Right-click on the Advanced folder.
- Select New and then DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Enter Start_AccountNotifications as the value name.
- Double-click on the Start_AccountNotifications value.
- Enter 0 in the “Value Data” field and click OK.
- Close the Registry Editor.
- Restart your computer.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
First, open the Registry Editor. To do that, press the Start button search for Registry Editor, and click the Open option.
Once it opens, go to the following folder using the folder structure in the sidebar.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Now, right-click the Advanced folder and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value option. This will create a new empty DWORD value.
Enter Start_AccountNotifications as the name of the value and double-click on it.
Replace whatever’s in the “Value Data” with 0 and click OK to save the changes.
Finally, close the Registry Editor by clicking the X button on the title bar and restart your computer to apply the Registry Editor.
Wrapping Up — Getting Rid of Windows 11 Start Menu Notifications
As you can see, if you don’t like annoying notifications in your Start menu, following one of the two methods will disable the Start menu notifications in Windows 11. For most users, I recommend following the Settings method as it is easy. However, if that method doesn’t work and you are looking for an alternative, follow the Registry method. Remember to back up the registry before making any changes.
Additionally, if you don’t like ads (app recommendations) in the Start menu, follow this guide on steps to disable Start menu ads in Windows 11.
If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.
