How to Hide the News Widgets in Windows 10 and 11

You’ll notice a few things in this screenshot. First, the application shows the current temperature as a tray icon—but you can see an icon representing current conditions instead. Second, you’ll notice that I wrote this article during a bad heat wave, which Oregon really isn’t set up for but is becoming more routine.

WeatherBar is the best weather app with a tray icon I found for Windows, but if it’s not to your liking, check out WeatherMate. This one dates back to 2005, but it’s a very lightweight tool for adding the temperature to your taskbar.

Hide News in Microsoft Edge

Screenshot of Microsoft Edge widget settings

Annoying news content also shows up in the new tab page in Microsoft Edge (which is pretty good otherwise). You can mostly hide it by clicking the arrow beside the word Content visible, then clicking Headings only. This will obscure all headlines unless you scroll down.

Alternatively, you could install Momentum, which will replace the new tab page in Edge with a pretty picture, a clock, and an inspirational quote. If that isn’t enough for you, you could just replace Edge with Chrome or Firefox.

How to Block Topics (Sort Of)

I’m going to be honest: I started off believing I could find some way to disable the news without disabling widgets. Wouldn’t that be neat? My first attempt was to open the Manage interests button, which opens a settings page on MSN.com in your browser.