Ditch Microsoft’s data-gathering and take control of your Windows 11 experience with the new Tiny11 Builder tool

The developers of Tiny11 (a slimmed-down third-party version of Windows 11) have released a new version of their Tiny11 Builder, a tool that enables you to modify and customize your own version of Windows 11 to make it more trimmed-down. 

This version will allow you to make Windows 11 ISOs (installation media) with disabled telemetry – basically, Microsoft’s inbuilt automated data collection and communication process for monitoring, analysis, and reporting of your system. Disabling telemetry has multiple implications for increasing user privacy, using fewer system resources to run Windows 11, and getting greater control over your user data.

Tiny11 Builder is essentially an open-source script that you can run on your device to make it possible to slim down your Windows 11 for a smoother user experience. You can get the script for Tiny11 from the developers’ GitHub page by copying and pasting the code into a Windows PowerShell window, or by downloading the script file (which will have a .ps1 extension), right-clicking the file, and selecting ‘Run with PowerShell.’

For the uninitiated, PowerShell is a Microsoft tool that allows you to automate tasks and processes in the Windows operating system. The easiest way to find it is simply by searching for it in Windows Search, but it’ll open automatically if you follow the second method listed above. 

How Tiny11 Builder works to unlock Windows 11's efficiency

Running Tiny11 Builder this way will prompt your system to use Microsoft-made tools to remove items that aren’t essential, but that you wouldn’t be able to remove in its default state. 

This process isn’t as straightforward as downloading an official Microsoft ISO from its dedicated website, but according to Neowin, the resulting IOS image comes out clean and fully functional. It also allows you to bypass issues like needing a Microsoft account and certain hardware requirements, as well as permitting you to kill off Microsoft Edge, Get Started, OneDrive, and any other Windows bloatware that you might consider unnecessary. 

The updated version of the Tiny11 Builder script allowing for disabled telemetry was put up on GitHub on April 29, 2024, and announced by Tiny11 creators NDTEV on X. If you’re concerned about how much of your user data is collected and shared with Microsoft, this is a popular option with many people who share such concerns. It allows you to curb the sharing of data through Windows functionalities like Application Compatibility Appraiser, Customer Experience Improvement Program, and others. 

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The ability to remove telemetry looks like the only change to this iteration of Tiny11 Builder, but NDTEV seems to have plans to give Tiny11 additional capabilities as per the developers’ GitHub repository. Future plans include enhanced language detection, more flexibility in managing which Windows 11 features to keep and purge, and maybe even a unique new user interface. 

This is maybe one notch above ‘beginner’ when it comes to implementing software on your PC, but if you’re interested in it, I’d encourage you to try it. With Microsoft’s recent onslaught of ads, I can see tools and solutions like this becoming more popular, and for all of our sakes, I hope Tiny11 Builder stays open-source. 

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Tiny11 is now even smaller, giving you Windows 11 23H2 but without the clutter

There’s a new version of Tiny11, the super-streamlined take on Windows 11 which is now even more compact, and it’s based on the latest release of Microsoft’s desktop OS – and yes, you can add Copilot into the mix if you wish (we’ll come back to that).

The new Tiny11 2311 is based on Windows 11 23H2, the recently released upgrade for the operating system, coming with major improvements including being 20% smaller than the previous Tiny11 23H2 installation.

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The developer, NTDEV, tells us that the new version “fixes most, if not all of the nagging issues with previous releases of Tiny11.”

One of the most important fixes is that the OS now works properly with Windows Update. Previously, there were problems with implementing the monthly cumulative updates for Windows 11, but that’s no longer the case, and you can keep your Tiny11 fully up to speed with all the latest introductions from Microsoft.

As mentioned at the outset, while Copilot isn’t in the new Tiny11 by default – this project is all about streamlining, of course – if you want the AI assistant in your Tiny11 installation, you can have it.

As the dev notes: “You just have to install Edge using Winget and voila, you have Copilot on Tiny11! It’s all about choice!”


Analysis: Important advances

This is very impressive: a reduction in the footprint of an already small Windows 11 installation by 20% is no mean feat. For those interested in super-compact sizes for Microsoft’s OS, this is obviously going to be a major boon.

The ability to get Windows updates fixed is even more important, though. Cumulative updates are very necessary in terms of keeping your OS secure, of course, as without them you won’t get the latest patches for vulnerabilities, and your PC won’t be as secure as it should be.

The choice to get Copilot on board is welcome, too, for those who may want a decluttered Windows 11, but still fancy having the AI assistant on tap. While the desktop-based Copilot isn’t very fleshed out yet – at all – and not many folks will take up this option, more choice is always good (and naturally the AI will be improved considerably going forward).

Note that there’s a version of this bloat-banishing OS for Windows 10, which as you might imagine is called Tiny10 (which can run on very low-spec old hardware, it should be noted).

Via Windows Central

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