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

If you noticed a new strange icon with the name “Learn about this picture” on the Desktop in your Windows 11 device and you want to get rid of it, this article will help you.

What is “Learn About This Picture” Icon on Windows 11 Desktop?

“Learn About This Picture” icon is added automatically on Windows 11 Desktop if you enable “Windows Spotlight” wallpaper feature in your device. Newer versions of Windows 11 come with a special feature called “Windows Spotlight Collection”. This feature allows users to apply random nature wallpapers on their Desktop which are selected and provided by Microsoft.

In past, this feature was available on Lock Screen only and now the same feature has been added for the Desktop as well. So now users can enjoy random wallpapers on their Windows 11 Desktop which regularly change at a fixed time interval.

The Windows Spotlight wallpaper feature can be enabled using Windows 11 Settings -> Personalization -> Background page. Following article contains full detailed instructions about this feature:

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

As soon as you set Windows Spotlight wallpaper on your Desktop, Windows 11 automatically starts showing “Learn about this picture” icon on Desktop. This icon helps users in learning about the current wallpaper image, switching or changing Desktop wallpaper and providing feedback about the wallpaper image to Microsoft.

Can’t Delete “Learn About This Picture” Icon from Windows 11 Desktop

The “Learn about this picture” icon is pinned on the Desktop and can’t be removed. If you right-click on the icon, you don’t get “Delete” option. Similarly, if you select the icon and press Delete key on your keyboard, it doesn’t remove the icon.

Microsoft has not provided any way to disable or remove the “Learn about this picture” icon from Windows 11 Desktop which might annoy the users who like a clean Desktop.

Although you can move the icon anywhere on the Desktop but there is no option provided to get rid of it.

How to Remove “Learn About This Picture” Icon from Windows 11 Desktop?

Fortunately, there is a Registry tweak available to hide or remove the “Learn about this picture” icon from your Windows 11 device quickly and easily.

If you also want to remove “Learn about this picture” icon from the Desktop in your Windows 11 device, following steps will help you:

1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type regedit and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

3. In right-side pane, you’ll see a few DWORD values. We’ll need to create a new DWORD to hide the “Learn about this picture” icon from the Desktop.

In right-side pane, right-click on empty area and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value option.

4. Set the new DWORD name as {2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3} and double-click on it and change its value to 1 to disable the Desktop icon.

Close Registry Editor and refresh the Desktop.

The “Learn about this picture” icon will disappear from your Windows 11 desktop.

PS: In future, if you want to restore “Learn about this picture” icon on the Desktop, either set the above mentioned DWORD value to 0 or delete the DWORD.

Another Way to Get Rid of “Learn About This Picture” Icon from Windows 11 Desktop

If you don’t need Windows Spotlight wallpaper feature, you can disable the feature by applying any other picture or solid color as Desktop background image using Windows 11 Settings -> Personalization -> Background page and it’ll immediately remove “Learn about this picture” icon from the Desktop.

BONUS TIP: Hiding or Removing Other Desktop Icons Using Registry Editor

The above mentioned Registry key tells Windows which icons should be displayed on the Desktop. If the value of a DWORD is set to 0, it means the icon associated with that DWORD will be shown on the Desktop. Similarly, if the value of a DWORD is set to 1, it means the icon associated with that DWORD will be hidden on the Desktop.

You can go to above mentioned key in Registry Editor and change values of following DWORDs to show or hide their icons on Desktop:

The same thing can also be done using classic “Desktop Icon Settings” window which can be launched using “Desktop icon settings” option present on Windows 11 Settings -> Personalization -> Themes page.

Just check/uncheck desired icons and apply changes and the icons will immediately show/hide on the Desktop.

You can also directly access the same window using “control desk.cpl,,0” or “control desk.cpl,,@web” commands (without quotes) in RUN box.

This trick will work in all Windows versions.

Also Check:

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