Microsoft Edge Webview2 Runtime can't be uninstalled.

[PavelDobCZ23]

I've been redirected(from there) to ask here about one issue I have. Microsoft Edge Webview2 Runtime keeps getting installed on my PC. I can't uninstall it as next day it somehow installs itself back. Can someone please tell me what is going on? I don't use either MS Edge or MS Office so I want a clear answer on what it is and how to stop it.
Thanks in advance

[#2 · Accepted solution]

Hi, WebView2 isn't something you use and see it in action, there is no user interface for you to interact with, it's the backbone of other software that rely on it. Windows 10 has WebView 1 installed by default in it, number 2 is the one that's based on Chromium.

can't tell why exactly you have it without knowing what's on your computer.

which Windows 10 build are you using?

[#3]

@HotCakeXI personally am tired of Microsoft and others putting in permanent runtime features that run in the background when you don't need them.

I don't develop websites or apps.  I do not need the Webview and I even don't use any Office products.  3 jobs running in background for Microsoft Edge Webview2 and no way of stopping them from restarting if I kill them in the background.

I may be running a "pro" version of Windows but that doesn't mean I want nor need this software.  Researching it cannot be removed and even if you don't use Edge or Office you cannot delete it.

This is so wrong and I'm tired of companies like Microsoft, Apple, etc. forcing us to run background jobs we don't need or use that simply take up memory for the very slim chance it might be used and to make it start quicker.

Give us the option to run it or not.  Just because we use Windows doesn't mean we will use ALL the possible features.

By the way running the Windows Insider version (basically Windows 11)

[#4]

If you are running Windows 11, you already have features that rely on Edge WebView2, like the new Chat, Widgets pane, hence the reason you see background processes for Edge WebView2.

[#5]

It’s also quite possible that Microsoft had nothing (directly) to do with Webview2 being installed on your machine. It is made available to third-party developers to install with their software as needed (much like the .NET runtimes):

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-edge/webview2/concepts/distribution

This is done so third-party applications can display HTML without requiring the installation of any specific end-user standalone webbrowser. Developers are free to include other rendering libraries / frameworks in their apps instead, but by using Webview2 they get free security updates even if the parent application is never updated (e.g. the publisher goes out of business or discontinues the product).

That said, running an Insider version of an un-released OS _may_ in fact come with certain components pre-installed that won’t be there by default in the release version. [As @RohitYadav mentions below, if you were to uninstall everything that depends on Webview2 then perhaps you could eliminate it from your system… but more and more applications (third-party and Microsoft) seem to be using HTML5 for parts of their actual UI, so I fear this may be a Sisyphean battle.]