Microsoft is making Windows 11's widgets board actually useful

If you're not a huge fan of Windows 11's widgets board, you're not alone. As it stands right now, the widgets board doesn't really give you a lot of customizability, so you can't make it truly "yours." Fortunately, Microsoft is working on a way for you to customize your widgets board to your liking.

Microsoft's new tweaks to Windows 11's widgets board

As announced on Windows Blogs (via Windows Central), the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 22635.2841 (titled KB5032286) is now ready to roll on the Beta preview channel. The update introduces a few good features and fixes, but fans of widgets will be most excited about a feature that Microsoft included near the middle of the patch notes:

We’ve updated the widget settings experience, providing more ways for users to customize their widgets board experience. One of the new settings enables you to just show widgets on your widgets board and another makes it easier for you to discover how to personalize your feed content.

The update also allows you to better control which Microsoft account your widgets are tied to. Beforehand, the widgets board would automatically sign you in with the Microsoft account tied to your Windows 11 account and refuse to let you change it. With this update, you can sign in with a different Microsoft account to better manage which account sees which content.

And finally, Microsoft is making it easier to disable the news feed in the Windows 11 widgets board. On the release channel, disabling the news feed requires a lot of hiding news sources via your preferences or using a Windows Registry hack to disable it. With this update, you can simply tell Windows 11 you don't want a news feed and it'll go away.

If the patch goes down well, it may convince people that the Windows 11 widgets board is actually useful. If done right, you can enhance your desktop computer with a cultivated widget selection tailored specifically to your needs.