[Tip] How to Disable New Fluent Design Transparency Effects in Windows 10

In good ol’ days of Windows XP, we had the awesome looking Blue Luna theme and many people used to install 3rd party software such as WindowBlinds, etc to get transparency and other eye candy effects. When Windows Vista was released, Microsoft added Aero glass transparency and other visual effects such as blur, reflection, shadows, etc to the operating system. The same eye candy stuffs were carried forward to Windows 7 operating system.

But with the release of Windows 8 operating system, Microsoft removed the Aero glass transparency effects completely to speed up system performance. A new Metro UI design was introduced to provide flat/material design effects throughout the system. The same thing was done with Windows 10 operating system. It also didn’t contain any glass or blur effects.

Some 3rd party software were released to bring back Aero glass transparency and blur effects to Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10 operating systems. One of them is mentioned in following article:

How to Enable Aero Glass Transparency with Blur and Reflection in Windows

Many people complained and requested Microsoft to bring back the Aero glass transparency effects to Windows 10. After getting several requests and feedback, finally Microsoft decided to add transparency and other eye candy effects in Windows 10 operating system.

Now Microsoft has named it as “Fluent Design System” which was codenamed as “Project Neon” previously. The newer Windows 10 versions come with Fluent design elements to have “Acrylic” translucency effects and “Reveal” effects on buttons.

Now you can get these visual effects in Settings app sidebar, Start Menu, Taskbar, Action Center and many other places such as UWP apps.

If you don’t like the new transparency and eye candy effects which are a part of new Fluent Design, Microsoft has provided an option to turn off all these effects.

Following steps will help you in disabling Fluent Design transparency and all other visual effects in Windows 10 newer versions:

1. Open Settings app from Start Menu or by pressing WIN+I keys together.

2. Now go to “Personalization -> Colors” section.

PS: Alternatively, You can directly launch this page using “ms-settings:colors” command in RUN dialog box as mentioned here.

3. Now in right-side pane, you’ll find “Transparency effects” option. It’s enabled by default.

To turn off all Fluent Design transparency effects, disable this option. Click on the toggle button given below the “Transparency effects” option to set it to OFF.

That’s it. It’ll immediately disable all Fluent Design System effects such as transparency, glass blur, reflection, reveal, shadows, etc.

PS: In future, if you decide to enable Fluent Design transparency and other effects again, set the “Transparency effects” option to ON.

Also Check:

Master Tutorial to Make Windows 10 Super Fast