Well, this took its sweet time coming. But Microsoft will finally let you uninstall certain baked in apps in Windows 10, namely Paint, Notepad, and WordPad.
This welcome change was spotted in an otherwise unexciting build release.
That being the Windows 10 build 19551, which made an appearance in the Fast ring of the Insider preview program some two weeks back. This version was not too high on new features, but it did provide us an interesting glimpse into the company’s future plans.
Part of the upcoming Window 10 20H1 release, or Windows 10 version 2004 as it is known, it appears that Microsoft is ready to give everyone a chance to remove native bundled applications in the operating system.
Paint, Notepad, and WordPad.
Two of these were actually demoted to optional features status not too long ago.
Basically, as noted, users that already have build 19551 installed have the ability to remove any of the three apps by visiting the Optional Features section of the Settings panel.
The uninstallation will then commence, and users will be prompted to restart Windows. After the OS restarts, the programs will be entirely removed. That is to say, even searching for them will not prompt for their reinstall.
Now, while none of these applications were resource hogs, it is all about giving users more choice on what they get to keep on their Windows 10 installation.
The power to decide what gets to stay on your hard drive now rests with you.
At least, as far as these three apps are concerned.
You like?
