How to declutter, quiet down, and take the AI out of Windows 11 25H2 (arstechnica.com)

Microsoft’s Windows 11 25H2 update is a relatively minor refresh (build 26200.7019) that mainly rolls forward the prior 24H2 codebase and ongoing incremental fixes. To match the current release, the team updated its Windows cleanup guide with dozens of practical steps to declutter a fresh Windows 11 install, quiet down baked‑in advertising and promoted Microsoft services, and remove or disable various AI/promotional integrations that many users find intrusive. The guide intentionally limits itself to officially supported tweaks rather than deep, unsupported system hacks. For the AI/ML community this matters because default OS behaviors — preinstalled apps, telemetry, and automatic AI integrations — affect privacy, reproducibility, and resource predictability on development and production machines. The updated guidance helps maintain a cleaner, more controlled environment without risking compatibility or blocking security updates. The summary also warns against aggressive third‑party remasters (e.g., Tiny11): while they automate deeper stripping, they have historically caused issues such as failing to install security updates or breaking basic functionality, so sticking to supported toggles is the safer path for developers and data‑sensitive workflows.