Technologies

A Windows 11 Feature That Frees Up Disk Space for You Automatically

Use this Windows 11 feature to automatically free up space, delete temporary files and manage your cloud storage.

This story is part of 12 Days of Tips, helping you make the most of your tech, home and health during the holiday season.

You never want a computer with little to no disk space available. A hard drive with no space negatively affects your computer; inevitably, it’ll slow down and your applications will freeze and crash more frequently.

And while the fix is obvious — you need to clean up your drive — you may have a difficult time deciding exactly what files to delete. Fortunately, Windows 11 makes it easy to get rid of what you don’t need and free up some space on your computer.

Instead of downloading third-party software to free up disk space, Windows 11 has a few settings you can configure to quickly delete temporary and system files, as well as old downloads you probably don’t need.

And if you’re worried about getting rid of important files, don’t fret — Windows 11 will help you decide what to get rid of to improve your PC’s performance.

If you want to learn more, check out more features we love on Windows 11. You should also read about the best desktop computers this year.

How to automatically free up storage space on Windows 11

On your Windows 11 computer, go to Settings > System > Storage. If this is your first time visiting this setting, wait a few seconds for your computer to analyze your data storage. Once Windows has collected what it needs to know, you’ll be able to see your total free memory at the top of the page. Underneath that you’ll see a breakdown of your storage, divided into apps and features, temporary files and other. You can also click Show more categories to view a further breakdown.

The setting we’re interested in, however, is Storage Sense, which automatically frees up space on your computer whenever your disk space is low. It does this by deleting temporary files, emptying your Recycle Bin and getting rid of old downloads, in the background, without you having to manually do it.

To turn on Storage Sense, simply toggle it on here. If you click the setting, you can configure several features:

Run Storage Sense: Run Storage Sense during low disk space (default) or every day, week or month.
Delete files in my recycle bin if they have been there for over: Choose 1 day, 14 days, 30 days (default) or 60 days.
Delete files in my Downloads folder if they haven’t been opened for more than: Choose never (default), 1 day, 14 days, 30 days or 60 days.

These Storage Sense settings can help you limit which files are removed, and when they’re removed, so that you don’t have to worry about any important files getting wiped from your computer.

At the bottom of the page, you can click Run Storage Sense now to use the feature then and there.

And if you want to get rid of more files to clear up space, use the Cleanup recommendations feature underneath Storage Sense. If you click on it, it will scan your system and recommend files for you to manually delete, such as temporary files, large or unused files, files synced with your cloud and unused apps.

Want to learn more about Windows 11? Check out the biggest differences between Windows 10 and Windows 11. Also, these are the best features on Windows 11 you need to know about. And if you haven’t downloaded Windows 11 yet, here’s how what you need to do.

Technologies

Roblox Will Pay $12 Million to Settle Nevada Child Safety Lawsuit

The deal with the Nevada attorney general will require Roblox to have stricter safeguards to protect children online.

Popular gaming platform Roblox agreed to pay more than $12 million and implement new safety features as part of a settlement with the state of Nevada. This settlement comes amid several lawsuits accusing the company of an alleged lack of protection of children on the platform.

The agreement resolves potential litigation over allegations that Roblox failed to adequately safeguard children while they played the online game, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a press release on Wednesday.

As part of the deal, Roblox will spend $10 million over three years to encourage children to engage in non-digital activities, as well as institute age verification for all users. This will include «facial age estimation technology and government-issued ID for age assurance, and will use behavioral monitoring to identify users who may have been aged incorrectly,» according to the press release.

«The injunctive relief that Roblox has agreed to will give parents the tools they need to protect their children on the platform; institute default protections to block predators from engaging with children; and ensure that messages involving minors are not encrypted,» Ford said in the press release.

Roblox also committed to spending $1 million over two years on a campaign to educate minors and adults about online safety and another $1.5 million to develop a law enforcement liaison position to work with state law enforcement agencies over concerns about the platform.

Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said it’s part of the company’s «work to establish a new standard for digital safety.»

«This resolution creates a blueprint for how industry and regulators can work together to protect the next generation of digital citizens,» Kaufman said Thursday. «We have no finish line when it comes to safety.»

Roblox is under significant legal pressure amid more than 140 lawsuits, according to Reuters. The suits, filed in 2025, allege the company knowingly created a gaming platform that allowed child predators to target minors.

The company also faces lawsuits from state attorneys general in Texas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and Florida over similar accusations.

Age-based accounts coming soon

Two days before the settlement announcement, Roblox CEO and founder David Baszucki revealed new accounts for younger Roblox users.

Roblox Kids will be available for children between the ages of 5 and 8, and Roblox Select is for those ages 9 to 15. Roblox is reportedly used by nearly half of US children under 16. Children who are older than 16 will be in their own age group, simply called «Roblox.»

Kids and Select accounts would be available in those age groups as determined by Roblox’s age-check technology or by a verified parent.

Unmonitored chat in the game has been a point of criticism for the platform, as it allows predators to chat with children. Kids’ accounts will have chat turned off by default, with limited access to Minimal or Mild games as determined by the platform. Select accounts will have chat with safeguards and access to games with Moderate content, which is described by the platforms as having «moderate violence, light realistic blood, moderate crude humor, unplayable gambling content, and/or moderate fear.»

These new age-based accounts will roll out sometime in early June.

Technologies

Opera Adds Browser Connector Feature to Integrate AI Chatbots Into Browsers

New feature will allow users to include the AI tools of their choice.

Opera announced Thursday the launch of a new tool that allows users of its browsers to include more AI chatbots in their browsing experience.

Browser Connector is a free feature for Opera One and Opera GX browsers that allows users to integrate AI tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude into their live browsing sessions via Model Context Protocol. MCP is an open standard developed by Anthropic that allows for a secure two-way connection between AI models, external data sources and tools such as search engines.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

Last month, Opera introduced MCP compatibility to Opera Neon, its subscription-based agentic AI browser. Opera says the new feature willallow a user’s AI of choice to provide real-time context of open tabs and active content.

«With Browser Connector, Opera ensures users aren’t bound to a single company’s ecosystem, but are instead free to combine the best tools for their specific needs,» Mohamed Salah, senior director of product at Opera, said in a statement.

To enable the feature, which is now available in Early Bird mode, users need to go to Settings in the browser, search for «AI Services» and install the Browser Connector feature. They then have to connect ChatGPT or Claude to the feature.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for April 17, #571

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for April 17 No. 571.

Looking for the most recent regular Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tricky one, especially the purple category. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: «Yer out!»

Green group hint: They score goals.

Blue group hint: Daddy dearest.

Purple group hint: Home, home on the…