Remove Learn about this picture Desktop icon in Windows 11

In this tutorial, we will help you how to remove Windows Spotlight ‘Learn about this picture’ desktop icon in Windows 11. Earlier, it was limited or restricted to turn on or enable Windows Spotlight feature to lock screen only, but now, Microsoft has come with a new feature for Windows 11 using which you can display Windows Spotlight backgrounds on the desktop. Though the feature is handy to display different backgrounds or images from time to time, it also displays a Learn about this picture icon on the desktop, as visible in the image below.

There is no direct option to remove this icon and you may find it annoying. So, if you want to remove or hide this Windows Spotlight desktop icon, then you can use a Registry trick covered in this post.

What is “Learn about this picture” icon on the Desktop in Windows 11?

When you choose Windows Spotlight to show the desktop backgrounds on your Windows 11 computer, a Learn about this picture icon is also placed on the desktop in the top right corner. You can move that icon anywhere on the desktop and use that icon to get more information about the displayed picture, switch to the next picture, like that picture, etc.

Everything is fine and it works and looks like any other desktop icon. But, unlike other desktop icons, you can’t use delete, Shift+Del hotkey, cut, copy, paste options or move Windows Spotlight desktop icon to a folder. So, those who want to get rid of this Windows Spotlight desktop icon can try the Registry trick added in this article.

Remove Windows Spotlight Learn about this picture Desktop icon

Before using this Registry trick, you should create a backup of the Registry so that you can restore the Registry if needed. When you have done that, follow these steps:

Open Windows Registry Editor
Select the NewStartPanel key
Create a {2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3} DWORD value
Add 1 in its Value data
Refresh your desktop.

Let’s have a look at all these steps in detail.

First of all, use the Search box of Windows 11/10 to open Windows Registry Editor. All you need to do is type regedit and hit the Enter key.

In Registry Editor, select the NewStartPanel key available under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER root key. The path is as follows:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel

Now open the right-click context menu of NewStartPanel, expand the New menu, and use the DWORD (32-bit) Value option. After that, rename that DWORD value to {2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3}.

Double-click on that value to open its edit box. When the box is opened, add 1 in the Value data field. Press the OK button.

Finally, access your Windows 11 desktop and press the F5 hotkey or use the context menu option to refresh it. As soon as you refresh the desktop, the Windows Spotlight icon will vanish.

To show Learn about this picture icon again on the desktop, you can simply repeat the steps mentioned above, and delete this {2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3} value.

As of now, this is the only built-in option for removing this Windows Spotlight icon from Windows 11 desktop. With upcoming updates, it could be possible that we will be able to do that using the Settings app or some other option also. Until then, you can use this Registry trick.

TIP: You can also use the Picture, Slideshow, or Solid color option for Background available under the Personalization category of the Settings app to remove or hide the Windows Spotlight desktop icon. But that option will also stop showing Windows Spotlight images for the desktop background. Therefore, this Registry Editor is better to use.

Read: How to Enable or Disable Desktop Search Bar in Windows 11

How do I get a Spotlight background in Windows 11?

Windows 11 now provides a built-in feature to set Windows Spotlight backgrounds as desktop wallpapers. To do this:

Open the Settings app by pressing Win+I hotkey
Click on the Personalization category available in the left section
Access the Background page
Click on the drop-down menu available for Personalize your background section
Select the Windows spotlight option.

How to hide desktop icons in Windows 10?

Whether you want to hide desktop icons on Windows 10 or a Windows 11 computer, there are a few native options to do that. These are:

Using the desktop context menu
Group Policy Editor
Desktop Icon Settings.

While the first two options let you hide all the desktop icons (including desktop shortcuts), the Desktop Icon Settings option lets you hide/unhide Recycle Bin, This PC, user folder, Network icons, etc.

Hope this helps.