Edition: Windows 10 Home | Version: 1909 | OS build: 18363.693.
Just came across a specific process group on Windows 10, in the Task Manager.
It is known as UWP and represented with a leaf, as one can see in the image bellow:
This UWP process group is suspending processes to improve system
performance.
I have decided to look through all the Background Processes and find which ones were linked with this process group.
Let's look at the apps linked with this process and see its response when one tries to End Task.
1) Cortana
Even though Cortana is suspended on my machine, it is still running in the background:
I selected the process and pressed "End Task", however, without waiting more than 2 seconds, a new process emerges:
Then it appears a Background Task Host:
Which turns into Cortana Background Task Host:
Till eventually ends up like this:
How can one disable Cortana completely? (I have come across questions like this one, however they seem out of date as they don't consider the UWP process group)
2) Photos
The Photos is also part of the UWP process group:
But when ending the task it didn't pop up again, nor even after a period of 20min waiting.
3) Settings
Settings is also part of this process group:
But, as Photos, when ending the task it didn't pop up again, nor even after a period of 20min waiting.
4) Skype
Even though Skype is Disabled during the start-up
It still manages to run without personally executing it – and it is also part of the UWP group.
After ending the task it didn't start immediately, but during the waiting period of 20min, the process started to run:
Till eventually becoming the following:
5) Your Phone
Your Phone, is also running and it is part of the UWP process group:
But when ending the task it didn't pop up again, nor even after a period of 20min waiting.
As one could see from what I mentioned above, some apps are now running in the background without one open them up, and even if they are disabled during Start-up (check my question for answers on controlling start-up tasks).
Even though that is happening, one is able to close most of the tasks belonging to the UWP process group. However, one is not able to end Cortana nor Skype.
How does one fully disable UWP process group tasks from running automatically, more specifically Cortana and Skype, even after one closes them?
Best Answer
To disable globally or for individual apps, i.e. to prevent "UWP Apps" from running on their own in background:
Go to "Settings -> Privacy -> Background Apps (scroll down to it) ...
From there you can disable each app individually with the toggle beside the app name, or you can flip the top-most toggle, "Let Apps run in the background", to OFF to globally disable. With this set to OFF, none of those apps should run or be launched for the stated "UWP" reasons of maintaining their versioning and etc..
So disable individually or via the top-most toggle - to OFF. Again, that is: