What to know

  • Spotlight wallpapers on the desktop and lock screen have an annoying little "Learn more about this picture" icon that never goes away.
  • But you can remove this desktop icon by changing the registry values, or by using a third-party customization app like Windhawk or Explorer Patcher.
  • The lock screen icon cannot be removed. But you can download the Spotlight images and set the image as your lock screen wallpaper to get around the limitation.

Spotlight wallpapers on Windows are simply stunning. But the sublime pictures are unfortunately marred by an annoying "Learn more about this picture" icon. Though it may be good to dive into what the picture is about once, it's not pretty having the icon sit there all the time.

Fortunately, there are a few ways to remove this "Learn more about this picture" icon on the desktop and the lock screen. Here's how to do so:

How to remove the 'Learn more about this picture' Spotlight icon on your desktop

While you can personalize Spotlight wallpapers on both the lock screen and the desktop, it's much easier to disable the 'Learn more about this picture" icon on the desktop. So let's look at that first:

Method 1: Using the Registry Editor

Step 1: Open the Registry Editor.

Step 2: Navigate to the following address:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\HideDesktopIcons\NewStartPanel

You can also copy and paste the above into the Registry Editor's address bar and hit Enter.

Step 3: Right-click on an empty space on the right and select New > DWORD (32-bit) value.

Step 4: Rename this value to {2cc5ca98-6485-489a-920e-b3e88a6ccce3}.

Step 5: Double-click this value.

Step 6: Change the 'Value Data' to 1. Click OK.

Step 7: Now restart your PC. You should not see the "Learn more about this picture" icon on your desktop anymore.

Method 2: Using Windhawk

Windhawk is an exceptional customization tool for Windows that has several mods to change the different aspects of the Windows UI. And yes - there's one to remove the dreaded "Learn more about this picture" icon as well. Here's how to use it:

Step 1: Download and install Windhawk using the link given above.

Step 2: Launch the program, click on Explore.

Step 3: Search for Remove Windows Spotlight Desktop Shortcut.

Step 4: Click on Details.

Step 5: Click Install.

Step 6: Once installed, refresh the desktop or restart the Windows Explorer process using the Task Manager.

Method 3: Using Explorer Patcher

Explorer Patcher is another useful third-party app that, among other things, lets you hide the "Learn about this picture" icon on the desktop.

Step 1: Use the link given above and download Explorer Patcher from the latest releases page. Then install Explorer Patcher.

Step 2: Once installed, right-click the taskbar and select Properties.

Step 3: Select Spotlight on the left. Then click Hide the "Learn about this picture" icon option on the right.

How to remove the Spotlight icons on the lock screen

Although there's no "Learn more about this picture" icon for the lock screen Spotlight wallpapers, there are a bunch of icons that pockmark the screen when you have Spotlight wallpapers set for the lock screen. But they're not as easily removed or hidden as it is on the desktop.

However, you can download Windows Spotlight Wallpaper Images on Your PC and then set them as pictures from Settings > Personalization > Lock Screen > Personalize your lock screen.

While it's not the ideal way of getting rid of the "Learn more about this picture" icon, it does get the job done.