🛑 Prevent Microsoft Teams from starting automatically

The desktop application for Microsoft Teams significantly enhances the user experience compared to its web-based counterpart. However, there is one aspect of having applications installed on your system that can prove to be detrimental to the overall experience if not addressed properly.

The problem in question is the default setting whereby Microsoft Teams automatically launches on Windows startup. The presence of unnecessary applications starting automatically not only creates considerable inconvenience but also has the potential to hamper system performance to a great extent during the initial moments of system startup.

It gets even more annoying with Windows 11. Microsoft Teams and Windows 11 share a different relationship than their interaction in Windows 10. Microsoft Teams is more deeply integrated into Windows 11, with the introduction of the chat feature as part of the core experience.

Some users who were previously unfamiliar with Teams now find an unfamiliar icon on their taskbar and an application running constantly in the system tray. Thankfully, you have the option to bypass Teams or Chat in Windows 11 if you don’t feel like engaging with it.

Windows 11 comes pre-installed with its own version of Microsoft Teams that’s separate from the Teams app you might have downloaded for work or school from the Microsoft Teams website.

How to use Microsoft Teams on Windows 11

A comprehensive guide to using Microsoft Teams in Windows 11.

How to stop Microsoft Teams from starting automatically on Windows 11

If you don’t usually use Chat or Microsoft Teams and the app loading on startup every time is bothering you, you can stop that behavior. Open the Microsoft Teams Windows 11 app. Find Microsoft Teams from the search option.

If you also have a Microsoft Teamwork or School app on your PC, you need to differentiate between the two. The Microsoft Teams Personal app is an app with a white background in front of the letter T in the app icon, unlike other apps that have a purple background.

Or you can directly open the app from the chat flyout window. Click on the ‘Chat’ option from the taskbar.

Then, click ‘Open Microsoft Teams’ at the bottom of the flyout window.

From the Microsoft Teams app window, go to the ‘Settings and more’ option (three-dot menu) on the title bar. Then choose ‘Settings’ from the menu.

From the ‘General’ settings, deselect the option to ‘Auto-start Teams’.

Now, Teams will not start automatically every time you start your PC. It will only run when you either open the app or run chat from the taskbar.

Hiding Teams Chat Completely in Windows 11

If you’re not satisfied with just preventing Teams from starting automatically, you can also hide chats out of sight.

Go to the ‘Chats’ icon from the taskbar and right-click. Then, click on the ‘Hide from taskbar’ option that appears.

Chat will be hidden from the taskbar but still present on your system and you can re-enable it at any time.

To add chat back to the taskbar, right-click on an empty space anywhere on the taskbar and click on the option ‘Taskbar settings’.

The Taskbar Personalization setting will open. Turn on the toggle for ‘Chat’ under the Taskbar Items section.

Uninstall Microsoft Teams

The Microsoft Teams personal app comes pre-installed on Windows 11. But if you don’t want it, you can uninstall it instead of using the above methods to completely remove it.

Open the Settings app on Windows 11. You can use keyboard shortcuts Windows , i to open the app.

From the navigation menu on the left, go to Applications.

Then, select the option of ‘Apps and Features’.

From the app list, find ‘Microsoft Teams’. Click on the three-dot menu (the white tile) on the right side of the app.

Click on ‘Uninstall’ from the menu. Then, click ‘Uninstall’ in the confirmation prompt that appears to successfully uninstall Microsoft Teams.

Whether you don’t want an app unnecessarily open when you’re not using it, or you don’t want the app in your view or on your system at all, you can manage it in Windows 11.

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How to stop Microsoft Teams from starting automatically on Windows 10

Open the Microsoft Teams application and navigate to its Settings. Click on the ‘Profile icon’ on the right side of the title bar, and select ‘Settings’ from the available options.

Once the Settings screen appears, make sure that ‘General’ is selected from the options on the left side of the screen. Proceed to uncheck the box for ‘Auto-start applications’.

Remove Microsoft Teams from Startup Apps in Windows 10

If Microsoft Teams is installed on your system as a component of the Office 365 suite, and you don’t use it often but are hesitant to uninstall it, try stopping the auto-starting process without logging in to the application. There is an alternative way.

Access your PC’s Settings and click on ‘Apps’ to open the settings for managing the various applications installed on your system.

Then, select ‘Startup’ from the options on the left. Alternatively, you can type “Startup” in the search box on the taskbar and click on the Startup Apps shortcut.

Now, locate Microsoft Teams in the list of apps and toggle off the app.

You can also disable Microsoft Teams from startup apps using Task Manager. To open Task Manager, right-click on an empty space on the taskbar, and select ‘Task Manager’ from the context menu.

Navigate to the ‘Startup’ tab in Task Manager, find Microsoft Teams in the list of apps and click on it. Next, click on the ‘Disable’ button at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

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conclusion

Managing the automatic startup of Microsoft Teams can greatly improve your overall user experience and system performance, whether you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 11.

This guide provides several methods to prevent Microsoft Teams from starting automatically, as well as options to hide or uninstall the application, depending on your preferences.

By customizing the behavior of Microsoft Teams to your usage patterns, you can maintain a more streamlined and efficient computing environment, ensuring that your system runs only the applications you need.