What changed in Windows 11 settings
Of the 48 release pairs we have measured, Windows 10 to 11 is the only one that removed more than twice what it added. It is also the only one that deleted whole top-level sections without replacing them.
The numbers
Comparing the full settings tree of Windows 10 with Windows 11: 984 rows arrived, 2,200 left, 11 were renamed. Every other system in the catalogue added more than it removed.
Some of that is the Control Panel finally giving ground — settings that existed twice, once in each interface, now exist once. The rest is a genuinely smaller surface.
Three sections that simply went
At the top level, Windows 11 removed Devices, Phone and Search, and added Bluetooth & devices, Network & internet and Personalization.
Devices became Bluetooth & devices, which is a rename in all but name. Phone and Search did not come back: phone linking moved into an app, and search configuration moved into privacy.
What got renamed, and what it tells you
| Windows 10 | Windows 11 |
|---|---|
| Ease of Access | Accessibility |
| Update & Security | Windows Update |
| Privacy | Privacy & security |
| Time & Language | Time & language |
Ease of Access to Accessibility is the industry catching up with the word everyone else already used. Update & Security splitting so that security went to Privacy and the section became just Windows Update is the more consequential one: a reader looking for security settings in the place they have always been now finds only updates.
The fourth row is Microsoft changing a capital L to a small one, which we record because it is what the screen says.
See it for yourself
Every one of the 3,184 changes is listed with its path on the Windows 10 vs 11 comparison. The Windows settings guide explains how the app is organised now, and you can open either version in the simulator: Windows 10, Windows 11.
The same question across every system: what actually changes between versions.
Try it yourself, on the real menusOpen any of 43 operating systems in your browser and walk the Settings tree exactly as it appears on the device. No download, no account.Frequently asked questions
Did Windows 11 really remove settings?
Yes — 2,200 rows that exist in Windows 10 are not in Windows 11, against 984 that are new. Part of that is duplicate Control Panel entries being consolidated, but three top-level sections were removed outright: Devices, Phone and Search.
Where did Ease of Access go in Windows 11?
It was renamed Accessibility. The contents are broadly the same; only the name on the first screen changed.
Why can I not find security settings under Update & Security?
Because that section is now called Windows Update and carries only updates. Security moved into Privacy, which became Privacy & security.