For years, I’ve kept a set of utility apps that go on fresh Windows installations. They fix OS limitations and improve poorly implemented features. But I’ve found myself reaching for my stack far less in recent years. Windows feels more capable, and built-in functions have replaced these utility apps. From enhanced storage management and built-in desktop management to improved screenshot and remote assistance tools, Microsoft has filled some of the gaps that once left us searching for alternatives.

Storage Sense

My drive stopped filling up, and I never found out why until later

Apps like CCleaner became part of many Windows installations because there was a need to purge system junk, temporary files, and old browser caches. I only realized I didn’t need a storage cleaner in Windows 11 after my C: drive sat at roughly 60 gigabytes of free space for a few months.

Storage Sense was the reason. It was working with OneDrive to make files I hadn’t opened for a while available online only. The files were still showing in File Explorer, but the actual bytes were no longer on my local storage.

It automatically cleans up temporary system and app files, targeting categories Windows considers safe to remove. It allows you to configure when the Recycle Bin cleanup runs and to enable automatic Downloads folder cleanup. On my computer, I set it to run whenever I am low on disk space. It’s quite effective at targeting the major places where temporary clutter accumulates, making dedicated disk cleaners less important.

Clipboard History

Two keys did what an entire app used to do

The shortcut Win + V made me entirely stop thinking about third-party clipboard managers, many of which stayed pinned to the taskbar.

This shortcut exposes the Windows clipboard history: everything that has been copied. Once I figured it out, I stopped copying the same thing over and over just because I’d overwritten it with something else. Most of what you copy is discarded after a reboot, but it was the pinning feature that made me delete Ditto. Once pinned, that item persists indefinitely. This feature is often treated like a paid feature in several clipboard apps. I’ve even pinned a few pieces of information I use repeatedly so I don’t keep searching for them.

I used it for years before I noticed it could do two other jobs

For several years, I only saw the Snipping Tool as an app that takes screenshots and, at most, draws a red box around an element—nothing more.

Windows 11’s Snipping Tool takes screenshots, records videos, and allows annotation. With two shortcuts, Win + Shift + S and Win + Shift + R, I trigger image and video capture. After selecting an area, I can annotate the screenshot immediately before saving it. For screenshots I don’t want saved on my device, there is an option to copy instead of capture. This places the screenshot in the clipboard, and I can access it from the built-in clipboard manager and paste it into documents or wherever I actually need it.

I also use its text extraction feature quite often. Modern screenshot tools may do far more, but for everyday writing workloads, I don’t usually need more than Snipping Tool offers.

Virtual Desktops

Separate desktops replaced the window juggling

The reason why we sometimes need multiple windows is that several unrelated things happening in the same place easily become untidy.

Windows virtual desktops allow me to organize work into contextual units. Using Windows + Ctrl + Left or Right, I can switch between windows instantly. This was the one detail that turned Virtual Desktop into a feature I actually use. I have a work desktop, and one for everything else. In the past, to achieve this, I needed to install VirtuaWin.

Windows virtual desktops don’t offer everything VirtuaWin did, but they cover what I actually used VirtuaWin for.

Phone Link

My messages and calls stopped pulling me back to my phone

Thanks to Phone Link, when I work, my phone can sit face down without me having to worry about it. The texts and notifications land on my PC, and I don’t need to touch the phone to answer calls.

Phone Link also stopped me from emailing myself files. On supported Android phones, I can move files between my phone and PC without sending them through email or another cloud service.

It offers further integration on certain Android phones, allowing you to interact with Android apps from Windows. It has rendered Pushbullet redundant for me.

Quick Assist

The app I almost installed for a problem that happens once a year

I used Quick Assist for the first time eight years ago, and it was very basic. It didn’t have screen annotation, and there wasn’t a built-in text chat for communication. Multi-monitor handling was also very poor. So, I just went back to TeamViewer, which I was used to.

But I needed to help my father remotely just a few weeks ago, and I didn’t want to go through the process of downloading TeamViewer. I was shocked. It now has screen annotation and a laser pointer, built-in text chat, better multi-monitor handling, and improved performance and reduced input lag.

However, it replaced my usual remote-access tool because neither person needs to install a third-party client, and no background process runs when the PC next boots. For someone whom I already know and trust, it’s my default.

The built-in versions became good enough

The utilities that I used and trusted for years did not suddenly get better; Windows just got better. The native utilities I now rely on aren’t always better, but they are functional enough to make me forget about the other features that I wasn’t using in the first place.