The Windows Spotlight feature provides stunning desktop backgrounds (worth saving!), but the “Learn About This Picture” icon can be an unwelcome distraction. Unfortunately, you can’t just right-click on it and select Delete to get rid of it as that will just open more options. If you are looking to get rid of it, try the following methods.
Temporarily Remove the Learn About This Picture Icon (Windows 11 Only)
If you just want to temporarily remove the icon – for example, to view the background properly – you can easily do this by deleting it. You can’t actually delete this icon, but when you try to delete it, it disappears until you refresh the desktop again.
Opening the context menu for deleting it won’t work. You’ll either have to drag and drop the icon on the Recycle Bin icon or select it with the left-click and press the Delete key on your keyboard.
The “Learn About This Picture” icon will disappear and you can bring it back by right-clicking anywhere and selecting Refresh from the context menu.
Disable the Windows Spotlight Feature
The “Learn About This Picture” icon is part of the Windows Spotlight feature that changes your lock screen and desktop background image regularly. If this feature isn’t important to you, you can switch to a static picture or a slideshow that won’t have this icon. Here’s how:
Right-click on an empty space on the desktop and select Personalize from the context menu.
Here go to the Background option and select Picture, Solid color, or Slideshow in the dropdown menu next to the Personalize your background option.
Windows Spotlight will be disabled and “Learn About This Picture” icon will be gone as well.
Remove Learn About This Picture Icon Using Windows Registry
In case you want to keep using the Windows Spotlight feature but don’t want to see the Learn About This Picture icon, it’s possible with a Registry hack. Here’s what you need to do:
Warning: incorrect edits in the Windows Registry can lead to Windows corruption and possible data loss. Make sure you back up the Registry before following the below instructions.
There are many ways to open Windows Registry, but the easiest would be to search for “registry” in the Windows search and click on Registry Editor.
Move to the following location here:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanelWhile the NewStartPanel key is selected, right-click in the right panel and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name this new value {2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a4ccce3}, double-click on it, and change its value to 1. Refresh the desktop afterward and the Learn About This Picture icon will be gone. You can bring it back by deleting this new value you created.
Use a Third-Party Tool to Remove Learn About This Picture Icon
If you are not comfortable with editing the Windows Registry, you can also use a third-party tool that will automatically remove the icon with a single click. We recommend Winaero Tweaker for this. This free tool offers dozens of hidden tweaks like restoring the classic context menu or deleting undeletable files, including the ability to remove the Learn About This Picture icon.
Open the app and you’ll see a big list of tweaks. Scroll down to the Windows 11 section where you’ll find the Remove Windows Spotlight Desktop Icon tweak. Check the checkbox next to Remove Windows Spotlight icon from Desktop in the right panel to remove the icon.
You’ll still have to refresh the desktop manually to remove the icon. You can bring the icon back by unchecking the option or clicking Reset this page to default.
With these methods, you can take full control of your desktop experience and enjoy your background distraction-free. If you are interested in further personalization, check out the best apps to personalize Windows desktop.
Image credit: Vecteezy. All screenshots by Karrar Haider.
