desktop app icon

Welcome David Lachambre,

I understand how frustrating it can be when you are trying to remove an application icon from the desktop, but when you right-click the icon, you do not see options such as Delete or Unpin from Start. 

Before proceeding, I would like to narrow down the issue:            

• Does the icon have a small shortcut arrow on it? 
• Are you using Windows 10 or Windows 11? 

In the meantime, you can try these steps below to troubleshoot the issue: 

Option 1: Check whether it is a desktop shortcut 

• Right-click the icon and select Properties 
• If the Shortcut tab is present, click Delete in File Explorer or press the Delete key on your keyboard 

Option 2: Remove it from the Desktop folder. 

• Press Windows + R 
• Type %public%\Desktop and press Enter 
• If the icon is there, delete it 
• If not, open %userprofile%\Desktop and check there 

Option 3: Refresh the desktop 

• Right-click an empty area of the desktop 
• Select Refresh 

Option 4: If the icon belongs to an installed application 

• Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps 
• Locate the application 
• Uninstall it if you no longer need it 

I hope the steps above help you deal with your issue. 

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