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If You Do Not Want Anyone To Know About The Programs You Have Installed On Your Windows, You Can Easily Hide The Installed Programs In Windows 10.

When you install an application on your computer, Windows 10 displays it in the Programs and Features section in the Control Panel and the Apps & Features section in Settings.

Some Windows users do not want anyone to know which programs they use, especially if the system is shared with other users. His article will introduce three valuable solutions for hiding your installed desktop applications from other system users.

Windows 10 does not provide a direct way to hide installed programs in the Control Panel or Windows settings, but you can do so by using the Group Policy Editor.

Also, if you are uncomfortable using these two editors, you can use the Hide From Uninstall List program to hide all your installed programs.

Why should we hide programs in Windows 10?

There are various reasons why users need to hide programs in Windows. Here are some of the reasons:

• If you want to install a parental control or child monitoring program without your child knowing, you do not want your child to see it in the list of programs, and then remove the app from the computer.
• If you are sharing your computer with friends or family and want to restrict the use of a program or make it inaccessible to others, hiding installed programs in the Control Panel may help.
• If you are bored and want to enjoy playing on the system and get some energy between working hours, hiding the installed game is the best way to avoid your angry boss.

Regardless of the reasons, the methods mentioned in this article will help you hide your installed programs from others. These methods are only for desktop applications and do not work for UWP (Windows Universal Platform) applications installed from the Microsoft Store.

Hide programs in Windows 10 using Registry Editor.

Many tricks are in the Windows registry, one of which lets you hide specific programs in the Control Panel. His trick involves creating a new DWORD value in the Windows registry. Note that incorrectly editing registry entries can disrupt your system.

To prevent this, create a Restore Point before following the steps below. System Restore helps undo negative changes and restore the system to its original state.

Create a restore point.

Follow the steps below to create a restore point in Windows:

• In the Start menu, type Restore Point, then click Create a restore point.
• The System Properties window will open in the System Protection tab. Click Create at the bottom of the window.
• After the notification window appears, write a short description of the restore point. Windows will specify the date and time it was created.
• Click  Create. Click and give Windows a few moments to create a restore point.

Hide programs with Registry Editor.

Press the Windows + R  shortcut keys to open the Run window. The Run command  Regedit is entered in the input box, and the OK button is used. Confirm the displayed notification to continue. In the Registry Editor, go to the following:

For 32-bit applications installed on a 64-bit computer, go to this section instead:

You can enter the above addresses in the editor’s address bar to increase speed instead of manually scrolling. If you do not find the program you are looking for at the first address, go to the second address.

Next, specify the program folder you want to hide.

For example, we want to hide the Google Chrome browser in this article. To do so, right-click on the Google Chrome folder, select New, and then  DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Change the Value name to  SystemComponent. Click SystemComponent twice, then enter 1 in the box and click OK. You can now close the Registry Editor window.

Chrome is now hidden from all Windows directories. To be sure, you can check the control panel for this issue. You must perform the steps above to hide other programs and delete the SystemComponent for each program. You can also block other Windows users from accessing the Registry Editor to ensure no one is making your changes.

It is convenient to use the registry editor to hide a program. However, if you try to hide multiple programs, you will lose a lot of time. Fortunately, you can get help from the Group Policy Editor to hide all your Windows applications at once.

Hide apps in Windows 10 using the Group Policy Editor.

Group Policy controls the work environment of user and computer accounts. In essence, the policy group provides centralized management and configuration of operating systems, applications, and user settings in the Active Directory environment.

A set of policy group configurations is called an Object Policy Group (GPO). Policy settings are managed via GPOs.

Policy Editor Group (GPE) can hide all applications from the Uninstall menu in Windows 10. Although GPE is only available in the Pro version of Windows 10, it can also be enabled in the Home version. Follow the steps below to activate the Group Policy Editor in the Home version of Windows 10.

Enable Group Policy Editor in the home version of Windows 10

Enter the following code in Notepad and save it in Enabler.bat format:

Right-click the BAT file you created, then select Run as administrator.

Next, the command window will open. Pressing any key to continue and exit the command window requires pressing a button on the keyboard.

Now that you have GPE enabled, you can hide those programs. To do this, follow these steps:

To open the Run window, press the Windows + R shortcut keys, then enter gpedit.MSC and press  Enter. You can also search for gpedit.MSc in the Start search bar. He goes to the following location:

Double-click the  Hide “Programs and Features” page in the right-hand column. Lick Enabled in the pop-up window.

Click Apply, then OK to save the changes.

Now, if you go to Programs and Features from the control panel, you will see the message  Your system administrator has disabled programs and features, and you will not be able to give any of the programs installed on Windows. Here are significant drawbacks to using this method:

• All installed programs are invisible.
• The message shown in Programs and Features indicates that you intend to hide the apps.

To prevent these problems, you can use third-party apps built to hide apps from the Windows Control Panel and settings, which do not have any of the above disadvantages. To show apps again, edit the policy and select Not Configured.

Use Hide From Uninstall List to hide applications.

Hide From Uninstall List is a free Windows tool for hiding one or more software stops in the Programs and Features and Apps and Features settings.

This method is better than the previous one because you can hide programs from view without a message notifying them that they are hidden. To use this app, download and run it. Idee From Uninstall List is a portable application that does not require installation.

Right-click on the program and select  Hide from the Programs and Features list. 

To hide all programs, click  Edit and select  Select All.

Right-click the names of the apps you want to hide, then select Hide from the Programs and Features list. To display the app again, right-click on it and choose Show under the Programs and Features list.

Because it is a portable app, it is an excellent tool for hiding apps without leaving a trace in the control panel. However, anyone familiar with Windows can find installed programs in the C:\Program Files folder.

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