Windows Cleanup Utility
DeBloater is a free PowerShell utility for Windows 10 and Windows 11 that removes a curated set of optional Microsoft consumer apps and Windows/OEM-provisioned promotional apps while deliberately preserving core Windows utilities and dependencies.
Overview
The current DeBloater uses two different strategies instead of treating every optional Windows app the same. A curated Microsoft list is eligible for removal when present, while third-party promotional apps are only targeted when Windows or the PC manufacturer provisioned them for users.
The script checks a defined list of optional consumer/inbox packages such as Clipchamp, Copilot, Feedback Hub, Maps, Phone Link, consumer Teams, Outlook for Windows, Solitaire, several legacy Bing apps, and Xbox front-end packages.
Patterns cover common promotional/OEM packages such as Amazon, Netflix, Spotify, TikTok, Candy Crush, Facebook, Instagram, Hulu, WinZip, and similar apps—but only when they appear in the provisioned Windows image.
Matching installed Appx packages are removed for all users. Packages marked by Windows as non-removable are skipped rather than forced.
Matching provisioned packages are also removed from the online Windows image so those targeted apps are not automatically provisioned for newly created user profiles.
Preserved Apps
The newer removal list is deliberately narrower than the older DeBloater list. Core utilities and Windows dependencies are left alone instead of being removed simply because they are inbox apps.
Sponsored Apps
A third-party app can be unwanted when it arrives as part of a Windows/OEM image but completely intentional when the user installed it themselves. DeBloater checks the provisioned-package inventory first and only adds a sponsored app pattern to the removal targets when that package was provisioned by Windows or the OEM.
If a supported third-party app was intentionally installed by the user and is not represented in the provisioned image, the sponsored-pattern logic does not target that app merely because its name matches.
Sponsored packages often use different Store package identifiers. Wildcard patterns let the script recognize common promotional families without maintaining a single exact package name for every OEM image.
How It Works
Xbox
The current Microsoft list includes the Xbox app, legacy Xbox Console Companion, Xbox Game Bar/overlay packages, Xbox Identity Provider, and Xbox speech-to-text overlay. Gaming Services itself is intentionally preserved.
FAQ
No. Microsoft Store is intentionally preserved.
No. Those core utilities are intentionally preserved by the current target list.
No. Gaming Services is preserved even though the current Xbox app and several Xbox interface/overlay packages are targeted.
The sponsored-app logic only adds those app families to the removal targets when a matching package is present in Windows' provisioned package inventory. That is intended to avoid removing a copy that exists only because the user intentionally installed it.
If Windows reports an installed package as non-removable, DeBloater skips it and prints a protected-package message.
Yes. Windows can block package removal for permissions, package state, servicing, or other reasons. The script counts failed removals, reports them as warnings, and continues with the remaining packages.