How to Disable Tooltip Pop-ups in Windows 11

If you’ve noticed small pop-up boxes appearing whenever you hover your mouse over buttons, icons, or the Close (X) button in apps, you’re seeing tooltips. These are the little text bubbles that display hints like “Close window” or “Minimize.”

While tooltips can be useful for new users, they can also get distracting — especially if you work quickly or keep multiple windows open. The constant pop-ups can block viewable areas, create lag, or simply clutter the interface.

Fortunately, Windows 11 allows you to disable tooltip pop-ups system-wide or modify their delay behavior so they appear less often. In this guide, we’ll show you how to turn them off completely or minimize their interference using built-in settings and the Registry Editor.

Disable Tooltip Pop-ups in Windows

You’ll need administrator access to your PC. The methods below work for all editions of Windows 11, including Home, Pro, and Enterprise.

Tip: Tooltips are part of the Windows UI framework, so disabling them removes those hover messages globally — not just in File Explorer or app title bars.

Step 1: Understand What Tooltips Are

Before turning them off, it helps to understand how tooltips work.

In Windows, a tooltip is a small rectangular text box that appears when you hover the cursor over certain elements, such as icons, buttons, or tabs. For example:

• Hovering over the X button might show “Close window.”
• Hovering over a folder in File Explorer might show its size or path.

These pop-ups are tied to system UI settings, meaning you can disable or delay them globally.

Step 2: Disable Tooltips Using System Settings (Ease of Access Method)

While there isn’t a direct “turn off tooltips” toggle in the new Windows 11 Settings app, you can disable Show pop-up descriptions for folder and desktop items through legacy Control Panel options.

1. Press Windows + R, type control, and press Enter.
2. In the Control Panel window, go to Ease of Access → Ease of Access Center.
3. Click Make the computer easier to see.
4. Scroll down and uncheck Enable tooltips or Show pop-up descriptions for folder and desktop items (the label may vary depending on your build).
5. Click Apply, then OK.

This disables most tooltip pop-ups throughout File Explorer, taskbar icons, and some system apps. You’ll no longer see descriptive hover text when you rest your mouse over buttons or file icons.

Step 3: Disable Tooltips Through File Explorer Options

If tooltips still appear in File Explorer, you can turn them off separately through Folder Options.

1. Open File Explorer (press Windows + E).
2. Click the three dots on the toolbar and select Options.
3. Under the View tab, look for the setting Show pop-up description for folder and desktop items.
4. Uncheck the box next to it.
5. Click Apply, then OK.

This removes hover pop-ups that display file details (like size, type, or modification date) when pointing at files or folders.

Step 4: Disable Tooltips Using Registry Editor (Advanced)

For advanced users, the Registry provides a direct way to disable tooltip pop-ups system-wide.

1. Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Navigate to the following path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
3. In the right pane, find the value named ShowInfoTip.
   • If it doesn’t exist, right-click and create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value named ShowInfoTip.
4. Double-click ShowInfoTip and set its Value data to 0.
5. Click OK and close the Registry Editor.
6. Restart File Explorer or your computer for the changes to take effect.

Setting this value to 0 disables all InfoTips (tooltip pop-ups). If you ever want them back, change the value to 1 and restart again.

Step 5: Adjust Tooltip Display Delay (If You Don’t Want to Fully Disable Them)

If you still find tooltips useful but want to stop them from appearing instantly, you can change their hover delay. This lets you control how long you must hover before a tooltip appears.

1. Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Go to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Mouse
3. Look for the entry MouseHoverTime.
4. Double-click it and change the Value data (default is 400 milliseconds).
   • To delay tooltips longer, increase the value to 2000 or more (2 seconds).
   • To disable them entirely, set an extremely high value, like 99999.
5. Click OK and restart your PC.

This won’t technically disable tooltips but makes them so delayed that they rarely appear, reducing distraction without removing them entirely.

Step 6: Restart File Explorer

After making any of the above changes, restart File Explorer to apply them immediately.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager.
2. Find Windows Explorer in the list.
3. Right-click it and choose Restart.

Your changes to tooltip behavior should take effect right away.

Step 7: Verify the Change

Once your PC restarts, hover your cursor over the Close (X) button, desktop icons, or File Explorer folders. You should notice that tooltips either no longer appear or take much longer to show up, depending on which method you used.

Step 8: Re-enable Tooltips (If Needed)

If you decide you miss having tooltip hints, you can reverse any of the above changes:

• In Ease of Access, recheck Show pop-up descriptions for folder and desktop items.
• In File Explorer Options, re-enable the same setting.
• In the Registry Editor, set ShowInfoTip to 1.

Restart your computer or File Explorer, and tooltips will return to normal.

Wrapping Up

Tooltips in Windows 11 are meant to help you navigate the interface more easily — but for experienced users, they can quickly become unnecessary clutter. By turning off Show pop-up descriptions or adjusting the tooltip delay, you can keep your desktop cleaner and your workflow distraction-free.

Whether you disable them system-wide through Control Panel or fine-tune their timing using the Registry, these steps give you full control over how Windows 11 handles tooltip pop-ups — including those that appear when you hover over the Close (X) button or any other UI element.