[Tip] Enable Hidden Secret Desktop Stickers in Windows 11

Latest version of Windows 11 operating system comes with a hidden secret feature called “Desktop Stickers“. This article will help you in activating and enabling Desktop Stickers feature in your Windows 11 device.

What is the Use of Desktop Stickers Feature in Windows 11?

Desktop Sticker is a brand new feature introduced in Windows 11. This feature is a part of Desktop customization or personalization functionality and allows users to put cartoon stickers on the Desktop. You can select one or more stickers from the given list and place them on your Windows 11 Desktop. The stickers are sticky and don’t move unless you edit them. The stickers are displayed on the top of the Desktop wallpaper and you can customize their position by dragging-n-dropping them using the Edit mode.

Following screenshot shows Desktop Stickers feature live in action in Windows 11:

You can consider Stickers as small gadgets or widgets placed on the Desktop without any functionality.

How to Enable Desktop Stickers Feature in Windows 11?

By default, Stickers feature is disabled or hidden in Windows 11. Microsoft has not officially announced this feature and that’s why we are calling it as a hidden secret feature. Desktop Stickers feature can be activated and enabled in Windows 11 22H2 version with latest updates installed. So before enabling Stickers feature, make sure to download and install all available updates using Windows Updates.

We’ll need to modify Windows Registry to implement a Registry tweak to activate Desktop Stickers feature. Following steps will help you in enabling Desktop Stickers in Windows 11:

1. Press “WIN+R” key combination to launch RUN dialog box then type regedit and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

3. Under Device key, create a new key and set its name to Stickers

4. Now select Stickers key and in right-side pane, right-click and select “New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value” option. Set the new DWORD name as EnableStickers

5. Double-click on the new DWORD and change its value to 1

Close Registry Editor.

You’ll need to restart your computer or restart Explorer to apply changes.

After restart, you can use Desktop Stickers feature using the steps given below.

How to Use and Put Stickers on Windows 11 Desktop?

Once you enable Desktop Stickers feature in your Windows 11 device using above mentioned method, you can start using the feature using following steps:

You can use Desktop Stickers feature in following 2 ways:

• Using Desktop context menu (right-click menu)
• Using Personalization Settings

Right-click on the Desktop and select “Add or edit stickers” option from the context menu.

Alternatively, you can open Windows 11 Settings -> Personalization -> Background page and click on “Add Stickers” button to select and apply stickers on the Desktop.

It’ll open Stickers mode on the Desktop and you’ll be able to select and apply stickers on your Desktop. You can select multiple Stickers to put on your Desktop.

You can resize, move and delete Stickers using the Stickers Editor window.

Add Stickers Option is Grayed Out or Disabled in Windows 11

If you find that the option to add stickers is grayed out i.e. disabled and you can’t use it, don’t worry. Desktop Stickers feature can be used only if the Desktop wallpaper is set to either Picture or Windows Spotlight. If you select Picture as desktop background, the fit option must be set to Fill to be able to use Stickers feature. If you set the picture as fit, center, stretch, etc, the button to add stickers will remain grayed out.

So either set the current desktop background as Fill or select Windows Spotlight as desktop background and you’ll be able to use Stickers feature in Windows 11.

You can select Picture or Windows Spotlight as desktop background using Windows 11 Settings -> Personalization -> Background page.

PS: Stickers feature doesn’t work with multiple displays.

Network or Offline Error While Using Stickers in Windows 11

While trying to use Desktop Stickers feature, I encountered this issue. When I clicked on “Add or Edit stickers” option or “Add stickers” button, Windows 11 displayed following error message in Stickers window or fly-out:

Clicking on “Reload page” button was not working. After some troubleshooting, I was able to fix the issue.

If you encounter this issue, try to set Desktop background as Windows Spotlight and the Stickers feature will start working again.

It seems the Stickers feature is connected with Windows Spotlight feature and if we disable Spotlight as background, Stickers feature also stops working.

Desktop Stickers Editor Application Location in Windows 11

I tried to find the application location which brings Desktop Stickers functionality in Windows 11.

Desktop Stickers are applied by DesktopStickerEditorWin32Exe.exe app which is present under following folder:

Once you activate and enable Desktop Stickers feature in Windows 11, you’ll be able to find the executable in above mentioned location using File Explorer.

How to Disable or Remove Desktop Stickers in Windows 11?

If you want to remove a particular sticker from the Desktop, you can again click on “Add or edit stickers” option using Desktop context menu and click on the desired sticker and then click on Delete button to remove the sticker from your Desktop.

If you want to completely disable or deactivate Desktop Stickers feature in your Windows 11 device, again go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\PolicyManager\current\device key using Registry Editor and delete the Stickers key which you created to enable the Stickers feature.

Restart your computer and it’ll permanently disable Stickers feature in your Windows 11 device.

Ready-Made Registry Script to Enable or Disable Desktop Stickers in Windows 11

If you don’t want to modify registry yourself, we have created ready-made Registry script file for you to apply the required Registry tweak automatically.

Download following ZIP file, extract it using 7-Zip or other file archive utilities and run the extracted REG file:

The script file will ask for confirmation, accept it.

After applying the Registry script, restart computer and you’ll be able to use Desktop Stickers feature in your Windows 11 device.

The ZIP file also contains extra Registry script to disable or remove Desktop Stickers feature.

Also Check:

[Tip] Set Windows Spotlight Collection Wallpapers on Windows 11 Desktop

[Tip] Remove “Learn About This Picture” Icon from Windows 11 Desktop

[Tip] Disable Search Highlights in Windows 10 and 11