You can now pin your favorite apps and unpin those you don’t need. Here’s how to pin and unpin apps in the Windows 11 Start menu.
Compared to Windows 10, Windows 11 has changed and improved a lot, even without live tiles. Not to mention, the entire UI is pretty consistent and eye-pleasing. By default, the Windows 11 Start menu has three sections. They are the Pinned section, the Recommended section, and the Category section. There is also a search bar at the top to quickly search for apps, files, and folders.
In the Start menu’s pinned apps section, you can pin your favorite apps and remove the ones you don’t need. This functionality is similar to that found in Windows 10. As you can guess, the pinned apps section helps you find and open your favorite apps a bit more quickly. Pinning removes the need to search for the target app every time you want to open it. Of course, if there is an app you don’t need in the pinned apps section, you can unpin it from the Windows 11 Start menu.
In this quick and easy guide, I will show you how to do it in simple and easy steps. Let’s get started.
Quick navigation links:
How to Pin Apps to the Start Menu in Windows 11
To pin apps to the Start menu in Windows 11, follow the steps given below.
- Open the Start menu.
- Search for the app you want to pin.
- Right-click on the app.
- Select the “Pin to Start” option.
- The app is pinned to the Start menu.
Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)
The first thing to do is open the Start menu. To do that, either press the “Windows key” on your keyboard or click it on the taskbar. Once the Start menu opens, search for the app you want to pin.
After that, right-click the app in the search results and select “Pin to Start“.
The target app is immediately pinned to the Windows 11 Start menu. You can verify it by reopening the Start menu.
By default, the app is pinned at the end of the pinned apps list. If needed, you can drag the app icon to the position you like. For example, I wanted to place the pinned app first, so I dragged it there.
It is that simple to pin apps to the Start menu in Windows 11. Keep in mind that the Start menu can show up to 24 icons, depending on screen size and additional sections. If needed, you can use the categories section to neatly categorize all your apps into different folders.
Good to read: How to pin folders to the Start menu in Windows 11.
How to Unpin Apps from the Windows 11 Start menu
To unpin an app from the Start menu in Windows 11, follow the steps below:
- Open the Start menu by pressing the Windows key on your keyboard.
- Right-click on the app you want to unpin.
- Select the “Unpin from the start” option.
- The app is immediately unpinned from the Start menu.
As soon as the app is unpinned, the remaining apps will immediately take over the space, leaving no unnecessary gap between them. If you ever want to pin an app again, follow the steps in the first section (How to Pin Apps to the Start Menu in Windows 11).
That is all. It is that simple to pin and unpin apps from the Start menu in Windows 11. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to help.
Good to read: How to change Start menu color in Windows 11
