New Windows 10 Policy Lets You Disable Cloud Customized Taskbars

Microsoft has added a new group policy in Windows 10 20H2 that allows you to disable a new feature that customizes the taskbar based on what accounts or devices you have.

In the Windows 10 Insider Build 20161, Microsoft introduced a new feature called “Programmable Taskbar” that customizes the Windows 10 taskbar when logging into an account for the first time.

The Programmable Taskbar is a new cloud-based feature that will add different pinned programs on the taskbar depending on what types of accounts a user has or what devices are linked to a computer.

For example, the image below illustrates how the cloud-based Programmable Taskbar feature will modify the default taskbar based on whether users on the device are linked to Android phones or have Xbox Live accounts.

This feature is now live in Windows 10 20H2 and does not modify the taskbar for any existing accounts, but only for new accounts or accounts logging in for the first time.

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How to disable the Programmable Taskbar feature

For those who wish to always use the default Windows 10 taskbar, Microsoft has introduced a new group policy called ‘Turn off cloud optimized content’ that allows you to disable the Programmable Taskbar feature.

When enabled, this policy will create a DisableCloudOptimizedContent value and set it to 1 under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CloudContent Registry key.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CloudContent]
“DisableCloudOptimizedContent”=dword:00000001

Below we have provided ways to enable this policy for Windows 10 Pro and Windows 10 Home.

Method 1: Disable the Programmable Taskbar feature via the Group Policy Editor

Windows 10 Pro comes with the Group Policy editor, which you can use to disable the Programmable Taskbar feature by following these steps:

1. Search in the Start Menu for ‘gpedit.msc‘ and select it when the result appears.
2. When the Group Policy Editor opens, navigate to the following path: Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Cloud Content.
3. Under the File Explorer section, you will see a policy called ‘Turn off cloud optimized content’ as shown below. Double-click on the policy to open it.
4. To disable Bing search, set this policy to ‘Enabled.’
5. When done, click on the Apply and then OK button to save the policy.
6. You can now close the Group Policy Editor.

New accounts will now use the default Windows 10 taskbar.

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Method 2: Use the Registry Editor to disable Bing integration

For Windows 10 Home users, you must configure this setting using the Registry Editor by following these steps:

1. First, open the Windows Registry Editor by pressing the Windows key + the R key simultaneously.
2. This will open the Run: dialog and then type regedit and press the OK button.Starting Registry Editor
3. Windows will display a UAC prompt asking if you wish to allow the Registry Editor to make changes to the system. Press the Yes button to continue.
4. Navigate to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\CloudContent key. If the key does not exist, create the necessary folders until you are in the Explorer key.
5. Right-click on CloudContent and select New and then DWORD (32-bit) Value, as shown below.New DWORD value
6. You will be prompted to enter the name of the new value. Type DisableCloudOptimizedContent and press Enter on the keyboard. A new value will be created that should automatically be set to 0. Now double-click on DisableCloudOptimizedContent and set the value to 1, and then press the OK button.
7. When done, you should have the DisableCloudOptimizedContent value created and set to 1, as shown below.
8. You can now close the Registry Editor.

New accounts will now use the default Windows 10 taskbar.