Windows · Personalization

Customize Windows Personalization

Personalization is the hub for changing how Windows looks and feels — desktop background, accent colors, themes, lock screen, Start menu layout, and taskbar behavior all live under this one settings category. It's the starting point for making a shared or new PC feel like your own.

How to open Personalization

  1. Open Settings → Personalization.
  2. Select Background to set an image, solid color, or slideshow.
  3. Select Colors to choose light/dark mode and an accent color.
  4. Save your combination under Themes if you want to reuse it later.

What you should know

  • Set a background image, solid color, or slideshow for your desktop.
  • Choose an accent color and whether it applies to title bars and Start.
  • Switch between light and dark mode, or match Windows to app defaults.
  • Access dedicated sub-pages for Themes, Lock screen, Start, and Taskbar from here.

Some personalization options, particularly custom themes and certain accent color effects, are disabled by your organization's Group Policy on managed work or school devices.

Why it matters

Personalization settings don't change functionality, but they have an outsized effect on how comfortable and recognizable your PC feels, especially if you share it with family members who each want their own look under separate accounts. Dark mode specifically reduces eye strain in low light and can noticeably extend battery life on OLED laptop screens. Because this page is the entry point to Themes, Lock screen, Start, and Taskbar, it's worth knowing it exists as the umbrella even if you usually jump straight to a sub-page.

Best practices

  • Match accent color to your background using the 'Automatic' accent color option so title bars and Start always look coordinated.
  • Use dark mode in low-light environments and light mode in bright rooms rather than picking one permanently based on preference alone.
  • Save a personalization combination you like as a named theme so you can switch back after experimenting.
  • Check contrast between your accent color and text before applying it broadly, since some bright colors reduce readability in title bars.

Common problems and fixes

Accent color changes don't apply to the taskbar or Start menu.
Enable 'Show accent color on Start, taskbar, and action center' under Colors, since the accent color toggle for the desktop and window borders is separate from this one.
Personalization options are greyed out on a work laptop.
This is usually enforced by organizational Group Policy; check with your IT department, since it can't be overridden from the Settings app.
Slideshow background stops rotating images.
Confirm the selected folder still contains images and that 'Shuffle the picture order' and the change frequency are configured under Background → Slideshow settings.

Tips and tricks

  • Right-click the desktop and choose Personalize as a shortcut straight into this settings page without going through the Start menu.
  • Use Windows Spotlight as your background option for a rotating set of curated high-quality images instead of managing your own folder.

Frequently asked questions

Does changing personalization settings affect PC performance?

No, background images, colors, and themes are purely cosmetic and have no meaningful impact on performance, though a slideshow background does use marginally more resources than a static image.

Can each user account have different personalization settings on the same PC?

Yes, personalization settings including background, colors, and themes are saved per user account, so each sign-in can look completely different.

What's the difference between Personalization and Themes?

Personalization is the umbrella category for all visual settings, while Themes lets you save and switch between complete combinations of background, color, sounds, and mouse cursor as a single reusable package.

More Personalization guides for Windows

See every Windows guide