Remove Windows Spotlight “Learn about this picture” icon from Desktop in Windows 11

Sadique Hassan•Updated Aug 6, 2022

In this guide, we will show you the steps to remove the Windows Spotlight “Learn about this picture” icon from the Desktop on your Windows 11 PC. Last year in December Windows introduced the ability to add Spotlight Images as your desktop wallpapers. At that point in time, it was only for the Insider Preview but has now been made available for the stable users as well.

If you haven’t yet given it a try, then head over to Settings > Personalization > Background and select Spotlight from the drop-down. On the other hand, if you are currently using this functionality, then chances are you might already have been infuriated with the permanent “Learn about this picture” icon. For the unaware, you could only move this icon from one position to another, it cannot be deleted or dragged to the Recycle bin. If you however over this icon, it will bring up the details about that picture.

Right-clicking on it will give you the option to like or dislike that image, open it, or switch over to the next one. However, there is no native method to remove this icon, well least not the conventional way. But if you are willing to take the road less traveled [aka Registry Editor], then we will make you aware of a nifty workaround that shall help you remove the Windows Spotlight “Learn about this picture” icon from your Windows 11 desktop. So follow along with us on this journey, it will be one intriguing ride.

Remove Windows Spotlight “Learn about this picture” icon from Desktop in Windows 11

Launch Registry Editor from the Start menu and head over to the below location:
```
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel
```
Now right-click on NewStartPanel and select New > DWORD (32-bit) value.
Give it the following name and then double click to open it.
```
{2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3}
```
Now change its Value Data to 1 and hit OK to save it.
Finally, right-click on your desktop and select Refresh, the icon will now be removed, for good.

How to Bring Back Windows Spotlight “Learn about this picture” icon on Desktop

If you wish to revert this change, aka bring back the “Learn about this picture” icon on your Desktop, then either change the Value Data of {2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3} to 0 or delete this file altogether [right-click on it and select Delete].

That’s it. These were the steps to remove the Windows Spotlight “Learn about this picture” icon from the Desktop on your Windows 11 PC. I’m usually not a fan of third-party apps and hence haven’t listed a method involving it. However, if you don’t wish to take the Registry Editor route, then you could check out the ExplorerPatcher app as users have reported success with that app. Apart from that, if you have any other queries, then do let us know in the comments. We will get back to you with a solution at the earliest.