To disable Windows Ink Workspace on Windows 10 or 11, open Registry Editor, navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsInkWorkspace, create a DWORD (32-bit) value named AllowWindowsInkWorkspace, set it to 0, and restart your PC. This removes the pen icon from the taskbar and disables the workspace system-wide, including on Windows 11 where it has been rebranded as the Pen menu.
Applies to: Windows 11 & Windows 10 | Last updated: May 18, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Windows Ink Workspace is the pen/stylus hub — it launches Sticky Notes, the Snipping Tool, and Whiteboard from a taskbar pen icon. On Windows 11 it has been rebranded as the Pen menu.
- Disabling it does not break your stylus — pen input, handwriting recognition, and pressure sensitivity all keep working. Only the workspace launcher and its taskbar icon are removed.
- The registry tweak is the most reliable method — set
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsInkWorkspace>AllowWindowsInkWorkspaceDWORD to0and the workspace is disabled system-wide for every user. - Group Policy works on Pro and Enterprise — Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Ink Workspace > Allow Windows Ink Workspace set to Disabled applies the same change with a UI.
- Winhance disables this as part of its debloat profile — if you want this tweak plus dozens of other Windows optimizations applied at once, use Winhance instead of editing the registry by hand.
Quick Steps:
- Right-click the taskbar (Windows 10) or open Settings > Personalization > Taskbar (Windows 11) and turn off the Pen menu icon for a quick UI-only hide.
- For a permanent fix, press Windows + R, type
regedit, and press Enter. - Navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsInkWorkspace. Create theWindowsInkWorkspacekey if it does not exist. - Create a DWORD (32-bit) value named
AllowWindowsInkWorkspaceand set it to0. - Restart your PC. The pen icon disappears and the workspace is disabled for all users.
In This Guide
This guide covers three different methods to disable Windows Ink Workspace, ordered from quickest to most thorough:
- Method 1: Hide the Pen Icon from the Taskbar — Fastest fix if you only want the icon gone. Per-user, UI-only.
- Method 2: Disable It with Group Policy — Clean GUI method for Windows 10/11 Pro and Enterprise users.
- Method 3: Disable It with the Registry — Works on every edition including Home. The most reliable, system-wide approach. (Recommended)
What Is Windows Ink Workspace?
Windows Ink Workspace is the pen and stylus utility hub Microsoft introduced in Windows 10. It surfaces touch-friendly apps like Sticky Notes, the Snipping Tool (previously Snip & Sketch), and the Whiteboard launcher from a single pen icon in the taskbar. On Windows 11, Microsoft renamed it the Pen menu, but it is the same feature under the hood and the same registry policy controls it.
The workspace is genuinely useful if you own a Surface, a 2-in-1, or any device with an active stylus. On a regular desktop with a mouse and keyboard, it is just another icon eating space in the taskbar. Disabling it through the registry makes the change permanent and applies it system-wide for every user account on the PC, which is more reliable than hiding the icon from Settings — Windows tends to bring the icon back after major updates.
Note: Disabling Windows Ink Workspace does not disable pen input itself. Your stylus will still write, draw, and respond to pressure in any app that supports it. Handwriting recognition and the touch keyboard’s handwriting panel also keep working.
Method 1: Hide the Pen Icon from the Taskbar
If you just want the icon gone and do not care about disabling the workspace itself, the taskbar UI handles this in seconds. This change is per-user and only hides the icon — the feature still loads in the background. Use this if you might want the workspace back later.
On Windows 11:
- Right-click an empty spot on the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings, or open Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.
- Under System tray icons, find Pen menu and toggle it off.
On Windows 10:
- Right-click any empty spot on the taskbar.
- Click Show Windows Ink Workspace button to remove the check mark.
The icon disappears immediately. If you want the feature itself disabled — not just the icon — keep reading. Method 2 and Method 3 are the proper system-wide approaches.
Method 2: Disable It with Group Policy
If you are on Windows 10 Pro, Windows 11 Pro, or any Enterprise/Education edition, the Local Group Policy Editor gives you a GUI for the same policy the registry tweak sets. Windows Home does not include this tool — skip to Method 3 if you are on Home.
- Press Windows + R, type
gpedit.msc, and press Enter. - In the left panel, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Ink Workspace.
- Double-click Allow Windows Ink Workspace.
- Select Disabled, click Apply, then OK.
- Restart your PC for the change to take effect.
Group Policy writes the exact same registry value Method 3 sets manually — AllowWindowsInkWorkspace = 0 under the Policies key — so the outcome is identical. The advantage is that the GUI documents what changed and you can flip it back to Not Configured just as easily.
Method 3: Disable It with the Registry (Recommended)
The registry method works on every edition of Windows 10 and 11, including Home, and produces a permanent, system-wide change. This is the method I recommend in every situation where you do not need the workspace back.
Step 1: Open Registry Editor
Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog. Type regedit and press Enter. If User Account Control prompts you, click Yes.
Step 2: Navigate to the WindowsInkWorkspace Path
Copy the path below and paste it into the Registry Editor address bar at the top of the window, then press Enter:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsInkWorkspaceIf the WindowsInkWorkspace key does not exist, you will need to create it. Right-click the Microsoft folder in the left panel, hover over New, and select Key. Name it exactly WindowsInkWorkspace (capitalization matters) and press Enter. Click on the new key to select it.
Step 3: Create the AllowWindowsInkWorkspace DWORD
With the WindowsInkWorkspace key selected, right-click anywhere in the empty white area on the right side of the window. Hover over New and select DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the new entry AllowWindowsInkWorkspace and press Enter.
Step 4: Set the Value Data to 0
Double-click the AllowWindowsInkWorkspace value you just created. In the Value data box, type 0 and click OK. A value of 0 disables the workspace entirely; 1 would allow it without the Suggested Apps feature, and 2 is the default “fully enabled” state.
Step 5: Restart Your PC
Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows. After the restart, the pen icon (Windows 10) or Pen menu (Windows 11) is gone and the workspace is disabled for every user on the PC.
One-Line Command Alternative
If you would rather skip the manual steps entirely, this single reg add command does the same thing. Right-click the Start button, open Terminal (Admin) or Command Prompt (Admin), paste the command, and press Enter:
reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsInkWorkspace" /v AllowWindowsInkWorkspace /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /fThis works in both Command Prompt and PowerShell. The /f flag forces the value to be written without prompting for confirmation, and the command creates the WindowsInkWorkspace key automatically if it does not exist yet. Restart your PC after running it.
Tip: To undo this later, run the same command with
/d 1instead of/d 0, or delete theAllowWindowsInkWorkspacevalue from the registry. Either way, restart your PC for the change to apply.
Disable This and More with Winhance
If you find yourself making registry tweaks like this one every time you set up a new PC, that is exactly the workflow Winhance automates. Winhance is my free, open-source Windows Enhancement Utility, and disabling Windows Ink Workspace is one of the registry changes it applies as part of its debloat profile — alongside dozens of other privacy, performance, and bloat-removal tweaks.
It is especially useful if you do clean Windows installs regularly and want every tweak applied with a single click instead of opening Registry Editor for each one. Pair it with UnattendedWinstall if you want the same tweaks baked into the install image itself.
Common Issues & Solutions
The pen icon is still showing after restart. Double-check the path is exactly HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsInkWorkspace — not HKEY_CURRENT_USER, which is a different hive entirely. Confirm the value name is AllowWindowsInkWorkspace spelled exactly as shown and the data is 0, not 0x0000 shown as 1.
The WindowsInkWorkspace key cannot be created. Make sure you are right-clicking the Microsoft folder itself in the left panel, not the empty space inside it. The new key needs to be a child of Microsoft. If you accidentally created it elsewhere, right-click the misplaced key and choose Delete, then start again.
Registry Editor will not open or is blocked. Run it with administrator privileges by typing regedit into the Start menu, right-clicking the result, and choosing Run as administrator. If a workplace or school policy blocks regedit entirely, the policy is likely also enforcing or overriding this setting on a Domain or Intune-managed device.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will disabling Windows Ink Workspace break my stylus or pen?
No. The stylus itself, pen input, pressure sensitivity, and tilt support all keep working in apps that use them (OneNote, Photoshop, Krita, Edge annotations). The AllowWindowsInkWorkspace policy only controls the workspace launcher — the small panel that lets you open Sticky Notes, the Snipping Tool, and Whiteboard from a single icon — and the taskbar pen icon itself.
Does this disable the Snipping Tool?
No. The Snipping Tool is a standalone app and is unaffected. You can still launch it from the Start menu or with the Windows + Shift + S shortcut, and screenshots saved to %UserProfile%\Pictures\Screenshots still work as expected. This tweak only removes the Snipping Tool entry from the Pen menu launcher, not the app itself.
Will Sticky Notes still work?
Yes. Sticky Notes is a separate Microsoft Store app and runs independently of Windows Ink Workspace. You can open it from the Start menu, pin it to the taskbar, or set it to launch at startup. Your existing notes and any synced notes from your Microsoft account are not touched by this change.
Does this affect handwriting recognition or the touch keyboard?
No. Handwriting recognition, the touch keyboard’s handwriting input panel, and Windows’ input method editor (IME) are all separate features. They keep working exactly as before. The policy only governs the Windows Ink Workspace launcher, which is purely a shortcut UI.
How do I re-enable Windows Ink Workspace later?
Open Registry Editor, return to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsInkWorkspace, and either change AllowWindowsInkWorkspace to 1 (allowed without Suggested Apps) or delete the value entirely to return to Windows’ default 2 state. Or run reg add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsInkWorkspace" /v AllowWindowsInkWorkspace /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f in an admin terminal. Restart your PC and the workspace comes back.
Will this change survive a Windows feature update?
In nearly all cases, yes. Values under the Policies registry hive are treated as managed configuration by Windows and persist across feature updates like 23H2, 24H2, and 25H2. After a major upgrade it is still worth verifying the value is intact — Microsoft has occasionally renamed the policy folder on rebrand releases, though WindowsInkWorkspace has been stable since Windows 10 1607.
Other Registry Tweaks Worth Knowing
If you liked this one, I have a full series of similar Registry Editor guides for cleaning up Windows 10 and 11:
