Prevent Apps from Running in Background to Boost Your PC

Ever feel like your PC is working hard even when you aren’t? That faint whir of the fan, the slight delay when you click—it’s often the digital equivalent of a dozen tiny leaks in a bucket. The main culprit is often the silent activity happening behind the scenes. Learning how to prevent apps from running in background processes is one of the most effective ways to reclaim your PC’s speed, battery life, and overall responsiveness. It’s not about stopping everything, but about taking control.

At a Glance: What You’ll Learn

Pinpoint the worst offenders: Discover which specific apps are draining your CPU, memory, and battery.

Master the three levels of control: Understand the difference between “Always,” “Power optimized,” and “Never” for background permissions.

Cut down on boot-up lag: Learn how to stop non-essential programs from launching the moment you turn on your PC.

Handle traditional desktop apps: Find out how to manage programs like Steam or Adobe that ignore standard Windows settings.

Apply advanced, system-wide lockdowns: For power users who want to enforce strict rules across all Microsoft Store apps.

Table of Contents

The Hidden Resource Drain: Why Background Apps Slow You Down

When an app runs in the background, it’s not just sitting idle. It’s actively using your computer’s resources to perform tasks like fetching new emails, syncing files to the cloud, or checking for software updates. While this is useful for apps you rely on for real-time information, it becomes a problem when dozens of them are doing it at once.
Each background process sips a little bit of your:

CPU: The brain of your PC, which gets bogged down processing requests from apps you aren’t even looking at.
RAM (Memory): Your computer’s short-term workspace. Background apps occupy this space, leaving less room for the tasks you’re focused on.
Battery Life: Constant background activity forces your hardware to stay active, leading to a much faster drain on your laptop’s battery.
Network Data: Apps syncing and updating can quietly consume your internet bandwidth, which is especially problematic on metered connections.
The goal isn’t to create a digital ghost town on your PC, but to make smart, informed decisions. While we’re diving deep into the PC-specific methods here, understanding the general principles of how to Stop apps to boost performance provides a great foundation for managing them across all your devices.

Your Toolkit for Taming Background Apps in Windows

Windows 11 provides several layers of control, from gentle nudges to absolute lockdowns. Let’s walk through them, starting with the simplest and most targeted methods.

The Precision Strike: Managing Apps One by One

This is your go-to method for dealing with a single, misbehaving app. If you know a specific program is a resource hog or you simply don’t need it updating constantly, you can change its permissions directly.

Press Windows Key + I to open Settings.
Navigate to Apps > Installed apps.
Scroll to the app you want to manage, click the three-dot menu (…) on the right, and select Advanced options.
Under the “Background app permissions” section, you’ll find a dropdown menu. Here’s what the options mean:
| Permission | What It Does | Best For |
| ———————- | ——————————————————————————————————— | ———————————————————————————————– |
| Always | The app runs with full background capabilities, even when you’re not using it. | Critical apps that must provide real-time updates, like a primary communication tool (rarely needed). |
| Power optimized (Recommended) | Windows intelligently decides when the app can run in the background to balance performance and power savings. | Most apps. This is the default for a reason and provides a good balance. |
| Never | The app is completely blocked from running in the background. It will only update when you open it. | Apps you use infrequently, like a video converter, a simple game, or a secondary news reader. |
Practical Example: Let’s say you have the Microsoft Weather app. Setting it to “Power optimized” allows it to update the live tile periodically. If you change it to “Never,” it will only show you the current weather when you physically open the app, saving a small amount of data and resources throughout the day.

The First Line of Defense: Disabling Apps at Startup

Some of the most persistent background processes are launched the second your PC boots up. These startup apps can significantly increase your login time and immediately start consuming resources. Taming them is a crucial first step.

Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open the Task Manager.
Click on the Startup apps tab (it may be an icon of a speedometer on the left).
You’ll see a list of applications and their “Startup impact” (High, Medium, Low, Not measured).
To stop one, simply right-click it and select Disable, or select it and click the “Disable” button at the top.
Case Snippet: You notice your PC takes ages to become usable after logging in. Opening Task Manager, you see that Spotify, Adobe Creative Cloud, and a printer utility all have a “High” startup impact. By disabling them, you’re not uninstalling them. You’re just telling Windows, “Don’t launch these automatically. I’ll open them myself when I need them.”

The Investigation: Finding Energy Hogs with Power & Battery Settings

If you’re not sure which apps are the problem, Windows can show you the evidence. The Power & Battery settings provide a ranked list of the most resource-intensive applications.

Open Settings > System > Power & battery.
Click on Battery usage to expand the section.
This screen will show you a list of apps sorted by their energy consumption over the last 24 hours or 7 days.
If you spot a surprising culprit high on the list, click the three-dot menu (…) next to it and select Manage background activity.
This is a fantastic investigative tool because it takes you directly to the same “Background app permissions” screen we discussed in the first method. It helps you focus your efforts on the apps that will give you the biggest performance boost.

The Nuclear Option: System-Wide Controls for Power Users

Toolkit for taming Windows background apps, boosting PC performance and speed.

Sometimes, a targeted approach isn’t enough. If you want to prevent all Microsoft Store apps from running in the background, you can use more powerful, system-wide tools. These methods are for advanced users and should be used with a clear understanding of their impact.

Using Group Policy to Enforce Rules (Pro/Enterprise Editions)

If you’re using Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education, the Group Policy Editor offers a definitive way to shut down background activity for Store apps.

Press Windows Key + R, type gpedit.msc, and hit Enter.
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > App Privacy.
In the right-hand pane, find and double-click the policy named “Let Windows apps run in the background.”
Select Enabled.
Under “Options,” use the “Default for all apps” dropdown menu to select “Force Deny.”
Click Apply, then OK. You’ll need to restart your PC for the change to take full effect.
This policy acts as a master switch, overriding any individual app settings you’ve configured.

Editing the Registry for a Universal Lockdown (Use with Caution)

For users on Windows 11 Home or those who prefer direct control, the Registry Editor can achieve the same result.

Warning: Editing the Windows Registry can be risky. An incorrect change can cause system instability. Always back up your registry before proceeding.

Press Windows Key + R, type regedit, and hit Enter.
Navigate to the following key in the left-hand pane:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows
Right-click the Windows key, select New > Key, and name it AppPrivacy.
Select the new AppPrivacy key. In the right-hand pane, right-click an empty space and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the new value LetAppsRunInBackground.
Double-click LetAppsRunInBackground and set its Value data to 2. Click OK.
Restart your computer.
Setting the value to 2 denies all Store apps from running in the background. To reverse this, you can either delete the LetAppsRunInBackground value or set its data to 0.

What About Traditional Desktop Apps?

Comprehensive system-wide controls for power users, enabling ultimate system management.

A critical point to understand is that the methods above primarily control UWP (Universal Windows Platform) apps—the kind you typically get from the Microsoft Store.
Traditional desktop programs (like Google Chrome, Steam, Discord, or the Adobe suite) often manage their own background processes. To stop them, you need to look within the application’s own settings.

For Steam: Go to Settings > Interface and uncheck “Run Steam when my computer starts.”
For Adobe Creative Cloud: Open the app, go to Preferences > General, and uncheck “Launch at login.”
For Google Chrome: Go to Settings > System and turn off the toggle for “Continue running background apps when Google Chrome is closed.”
Always hunt through the “General,” “System,” or “Startup” sections of a desktop app’s preferences to find these controls.

Quick Answers to Common Questions

Q: Will I miss important notifications if I prevent apps from running in the background?
A: Yes, potentially. If you set your email or messaging app’s background permission to “Never,” you will not get real-time notifications. You will only see new messages when you open the app. This is why the “Power optimized” setting is the recommended default—it tries to find a balance.
Q: Is it safe to disable all background apps?
A: It’s safe to disable most user-installed apps. However, you should not interfere with system processes you see in Task Manager (like svchost.exe or csrss.exe), as these are essential for Windows to operate correctly. Stick to managing applications you recognize from the Settings > Apps menu.
Q: What’s the difference between disabling a startup app and setting its background permission to “Never”?
A: Disabling a startup app prevents it from launching automatically when you log in. Setting permissions to “Never” stops it from running in the background after you’ve opened and closed it. For maximum control over a non-essential app, you should do both.
Q: Why can’t I find “Advanced options” for an app like Photoshop?
A: That’s because Photoshop is a traditional desktop application, not a Microsoft Store (UWP) app. Windows’ built-in background permissions do not apply to it. You must manage its behavior from within Photoshop’s or Adobe Creative Cloud’s own settings menu.

Finding Your Performance-Functionality Sweet Spot

Taking control of background apps isn’t about creating a barren, unresponsive operating system. It’s about curation. By using these tools, you transform from a passive user into an active manager of your PC’s resources.
Start with the gentlest methods first. Use the Power & Battery settings to identify your top 3-5 resource hogs and adjust their permissions. Then, clean up your Startup apps list for a faster boot. For most users, these two steps will deliver 90% of the benefit, resulting in a snappier, longer-lasting, and more efficient PC.

Author
Recent Posts

Turthledeep

Hi, I’m creator of Best App Review. As a tech enthusiast, I’m passionate about finding and sharing the best apps to help you work smarter, live better, and stay productive. Through honest reviews and hands-on testing, I aim to guide you in choosing the right tools for your needs. Let’s explore the world of apps together!