Windows 10: Permanently remove WebView2 and stop it from reinstalling during Windows updates

Dear Support Community,Does anyone know how to permanently remove WebView2 and stop it from reinstalling during Windows updates?I have had enough of this insidious process running in the background and consuming ~ 1/4 of my hardware's memory!I am sick and tired of bloatware and other applications being installed and not having a simple method to remove them permanently.They slow down my workflow through their drain on the capacity of a computer.

:)

 

WebView2 Windows App SDK, WinUI2, Runtime, and CDP Helper Updates

Source: https://blogs.windows.com/msedgedev/...me-cdp-helper/

 

How do I permanently stop windows updates  

 

Microsoft Edge webView2 Runtime do not want it

I have a Lenovo laptop with Windows 10 Pro. The version is 21H1. OS build is 19043.1865. I use Opera is my default web browser. I never used Microsoft Edge and it is not installed.
I did a full reinstallation of the Windows 10 Pro last month due to bloated Windows. My issue is that Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime keeps reinstalling no matter how many times I removed the program. I did a search online that WebView2 was part of Microsoft 365 which I don’t use. I use Office 2016 Home and Student edition.
I removed Microsoft 365 and disabled Microsoft Edge Update Services. Every time I connect to the internet, the Edge WebView 2 runtime returns even through I used the Microsoft Edge ChromiumBlocker toolkit. I used a cmd script to block the installation of Edge and its WebView 2 thru automatic updates. Automatic updates of other Microsoft products are not enabled. Why does WebView 2 Runtime keeps returning? It’s a 521 MB file that is never used. I don’t do any Office documents online.

I found this in PowerShell folder “PSReadLine” which has this text below:
get-appxpackage *edge*
remove-appxpackage Microsoft.MicrosoftEdgeDevToolsClient_1000.19041.1023.0_neutral_neutral_8wekyb3d8bbwe
exit
How to stop reinstallation of Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime? I don't have Edge installed but there's a blank icon of Microsoft Edge in the Universal Applications Folder. I can't locate that Edge link because I use Stardock Start 10 software.

- - - Updated - - -

Update: I solved the issue. I let the Microsoft Edge WebView 2 runtime installed and in my firewall software, I added the Edge updater to list and blocked it. In addition, I found that I have no host file and created a new one and added these to host file:
127.0.0.1 https://msedge.api.cdp.microsoft.com
127.0.0.1 *.dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com
Now the Edge WebView2 runtime doesn't get installed.