A little over a dozen universal apps (also known as Metro or Modern apps) are bundled with Windows 10. Calculator, Calendar, Mail, Camera, Cortana, Contact Support, File & TV, Get Started, Groove Music, Maps, News, OneNote, People, Photos, and Phone Companion are some of the apps that ship with Windows 10.
While it’s true that most of these apps were part of the previous version of Windows as well and were not impressive, all these apps have been updated with better UI and features. Some of these apps like Mail, Calendar, Calculator and Voice Recorder are really helpful, but not all users are going to use these default apps.
*windows.intowindows.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Uninstall-default-apps-in-Windows-10-Step5_thumb.png
That said, uninstalling these default apps is not a good idea, especially if you hope to free up some disk space. Some of these apps are under 1 MB, in fact, uninstalling all these apps will probably free up around 100 MB of disk space.
Moreover, if you want to uninstall one or more default apps in Windows 10, it’s not possible to do so via the Control Panel or Settings app.
As with the case of traditional Windows programs like Paint and Notepad, with default settings, Windows 10 doesn’t allow you uninstall or remove these default apps. The Apps and features section of Settings app doesn’t show Uninstall option when you click on a default app.
Uninstall or remove default apps using PowerShell
To uninstall a default or pre-installed app in Windows 10, you need to execute a simple command. Here is how to uninstall a default or pre-installed app in Windows 10:
NOTE: Some of the apps like Cortana and Store can’t be uninstalled as they are system apps and essential for the smooth operation of Windows 10.
Step 1: The first step is to open Windows PowerShell as administrator. To do so, type PowerShell in the Start menu or taskbar search box to see PowerShell in the search results, right-click on it and then click Run as administrator.
*windows.intowindows.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Uninstall-default-apps-in-Windows-10-Step1_thumb.png
Alternatively, type PowerShell in search box and then simultaneously press Ctrl + Shift + Enter keys to run it as administrator.
Step 2: In the PowerShell window, type the following command and then press Enter key to get a list of all default apps and universal apps installed from the Store.
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers
*windows.intowindows.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Uninstall-default-apps-in-Windows-10-Step2_thumb.png
Step 3: Scroll down to see the app that you want to uninstall. And if you want to uninstall all apps at once, please skip to Step 6.
Copy the package name of the application as we can’t uninstall an app by just entering its name. The package name appears right next to PackageFullName.
*windows.intowindows.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Uninstall-default-apps-in-Windows-10-Step3_thumb.png
For instance, in this guide, we are uninstalling the Maps app. To do so, we need to first copy the full package name of the app. To copy the full package name, select the full package name as shown in the above picture, and then use Ctrl + C hotkey to copy the name.
Step 4: To uninstall the app, type the following command:
Remove-AppxPackage PackageFullName
In the above command replace PackageFullName with the full package name of the app. In this guide, we are removing the Maps app. So we have put the full package name of Maps app.
*windows.intowindows.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Uninstall-default-apps-in-Windows-10-Step4_thumb.png
Step 5: To remove all default apps from all user accounts, use the following command.
Get-AppxPackage -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage
Step 6: To remove all default apps as well as apps installed from the Store for the current user account, use this command:
Get-AppxPackage -User | Remove-AppxPackage
In the above command replace the User with your user name.
Good luck!
How to Uninstall Windows 10’s Built-in Apps (and How to Reinstall Them)