By Kavita Mistry 
The Windows operating system has long been known for its out-of-the-box customizability. However, it still has various system elements and behaviors that you can’t easily change or personalize as per your preference.
Sure, modifying Registry keys is one way to customize these elements, but it isn’t as straightforward and may result in system instability if done incorrectly. This is where tools like Winaero Tweaker come into play, offering a user-friendly interface that makes applying tweaks easier with minimal risk.
Winaero Tweaker Simplifies Windows Customization
Winaero Tweaker is a Windows customization utility that packs a wide range of tweaks under one roof, allowing you to customize almost every aspect of the operating system. It works by modifying Registry keys or leveraging Windows APIs and Group Policies—depending on the tweak—to enable or disable specific features.
For instance, with Winaero Tweaker, you can easily fine-tune the system appearance, modify context menus, and enable or disable system features. The app also allows you to add advanced context menu entries and restore classic Windows features and apps on your PC.
The best part? Winaero Tweaker is absolutely free. You can use it on Windows 11, Windows 10, or even an older version of Windows if you have one running on your PC.
Windows Customizations You Can Perform With Winaero Tweaker
Winaero Tweaker offers tweaks spanning various categories to help you customize nearly every aspect of your Windows PC. Here are some interesting applications of Winaero Tweaker.
Customize and Enhance the Context Menu
While quite modern-looking, Windows 11’s context menu isn’t as functional as its predecessor and lacks many useful options. Winaero Tweaker lets you change this by restoring the old context menu and adding some handy options to it.
Get the classic full context menu: Use the Classic Full Context Menus tweak to get the old context menu in Windows 11. Once you do this, you won’t have to click the Show More Options button to reveal all available options.
Add handy options to the context menu: With the classic context menu, you get access to plenty of useful options that are otherwise unavailable on the modern context menu. But that’s not all; you can add a few more handy options to this context menu to make it even more functional. Some notable ones include:
- Control Panel: Offers quick and easy access to the Control Panel on the desktop
- Create System Restore Point: Allows quick creation of a system restore point
- Clipboard History: Lets you quickly enable or disable the clipboard history feature
- Kill Not Responding Tasks: Enables you to terminate unresponsive apps on your PC right from the desktop
- Remove Default Entries: Allows you to declutter the context menu by removing options you don’t use or need
- Restart Explorer: Gives you an easy way to restart the File Explorer
- Settings: Available under the Context Menu category, Settings offers access to various Windows settings across different categories like Apps, Accounts, Gaming, System, Personalization, and more, in the context menu
Disable Windows Apps and Features
Microsoft doesn’t allow you to disable many of its built-in features out of the box. However, thanks to Winaero Tweaker, you can easily turn off the features you don’t use or find intrusive and annoying.
- Disable Copilot: Copilot is an AI-powered assistant that promises to help you with various daily tasks on your PC. However, it can aggressively consume system resources and collect data about your usage. You can disable Copilot using the Disable Copilot tweak.
- Disable Cortana: If you’re on Windows 10, you’ll have Cortana as your digital assistant. Among other things, it’s known to be resource-hogging and not very effective at many tasks. This Winaero Tweaker tweak disables Cortana on your PC.
- Disable Telemetry: Your Windows PC automatically collects system data, usage patterns, reports, diagnostic information, and more, in the background for various purposes. If this concerns you, you can disable Telemetry and take back control of your data.
- Ads and Unwanted Apps: Microsoft may occasionally show promotional content throughout the system. This could be anything from Start Menu suggestions to tips about Windows, timeline suggestions, personalized ads, and app and website ads in the Recommended section of the Start Menu. The Ads and Unwanted Apps tweak allows you to turn them off for a distraction-free experience.
Enhance File Explorer
You can use File Explorer on your PC as it comes by default. However, Winaero Tweaker packs several tweaks to unlock hidden options.
- Enable Auto Completion: Available on Windows 10, the Enable Auto Completion tweak saves you time by automatically completing your search queries in the address bar and the Open and Save dialogs of certain apps. It also completes commands in the Run dialog box.
- File Explorer Starting Folder: With it, you can change the default folder File Explorer opens every time you launch it. You can select from various default options, or choose a custom location as needed.
Improve Wallpaper Quality
When you set an image as a desktop background, Windows reduces its quality to 85%. This can make certain backgrounds appear less sharp or detailed. With the Wallpaper Quality tweak, you can override this by setting the value to 100% for sharper and more detailed desktop backgrounds.
How to Use Winaero Tweaker to Customize Your Windows PC
Getting started with Winaero Tweaker is easy. First, download the installer from the official website (link below) on your PC. Then, run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup.
Download Winaero Tweaker (Free)
Once installed, launch the Winaero Tweaker app on your PC. Click the Yes button on the User Account Control prompt to proceed.
Winaero Tweaker should now be up on your screen. Here, you’ll see the app’s interface split into two parts. On the left, you have a list of all the currently offered tweaks categorized under collapsible headings, whereas the right section shows a description of the tweak you choose on the left.
If it’s your first time using Winaero Tweaker, you can scroll through the list of tweaks available. Alternatively, if you’re looking for a specific tweak, you can type its name in the search box at the top.
To learn more about a tweak, click on it, and you’ll get all the details about it to your right. You’ll also see all the actions and options available for the tweak. Most of the tweaks also have links to webpages that talk about them in detail and show you how to use them.
Click on the appropriate option to enable, disable, or configure the tweak. With some tweaks, Winaero Tweaker may ask you to restart certain system components, like File Explorer, for instance. Similarly, it may ask you to sign out of the system and sign back in for some changes to take effect. Do that, and your tweak should work like you configured it.
At any point, if you wish to see all the tweaks you’ve applied to your system recently, expand the Home option in the left sidebar and select Recent Changes. Here, you’ll see a list of all the tweaks along with the date and time you’ve applied them.
If you want to restore a tweak, select it in the left sidebar and click the Reset this Page to Defaults button at the top. Alternatively, select the tweak, click Actions, and select Reset this to Defaults.
When you want to disable all your applied tweaks at once, click Actions and select Reset All Tweaks. You’ll now see a window with all the active tweaks. Click the Reset Selected Tweaks to disable all tweaks.
To exclude tweaks—to leave them enabled—uncheck the checkboxes next to them before clicking Reset Selected Tweaks.
Winaero Tweaker also offers an Import/Export Tweaks option. Using it, you can export all the tweaks you’ve applied to your system into a file. Later, you can import this file on your PC to restore all the tweaks at once. It’s a nifty functionality that comes in handy when you want to apply the same tweaks across multiple systems or restore the tweaks on the same PC after a fresh Windows install.
Is Winaero Tweaker Safe?
Safety and security concerns are common with any utility that involves modifying system components. Winaero Tweaker isn’t an exception to this, either. However, it’s widely considered safe, provided you download it from the official website, as that ensures you’re using the original, malware-free version.
Additionally, the safety of Winaero Tweaker also depends on your actions. Since you can modify system components with it, it’s important to be mindful of the modifications you make to your system, as an uninformed change can lead to system instability, reduced performance, or security vulnerabilities. (Thankfully, Winaero Tweaker makes it easy to undo changes when something like this happens.)
Make Windows Truly Yours
Winaero Tweaker is one of the underrated Windows apps that can change your PC experience. By centralizing hundreds of tweaks across various categories, it makes it easy for you to take control over various aspects of your Windows PC and make it look and work as per your preference.
Winaero Tweaker isn’t the only Windows customization utility out there. You also have Windhawk and Microsoft PowerToys. While PowerToys pack a suite of tools to help improve your workflow and boost productivity, Windhawk is an open-source and community-driven utility that hosts a wide range of mods and scripts for advanced customization.
Go ahead, give these tools a try, and personalize your PC’s appearance and functionality.