If you want to hide installed apps on Windows, you’ve come to the right place. It’s true that every app you install in Windows appears in the Control Panel or Programs and Features settings by default, but you can change that with a few tweaks here and there. Now let’s see how to hide apps in Windows.
How to hide your applications on Windows PC
As with everything in Windows, there are many ways to hide apps on your Windows PC. Depending on your qualifications, you can choose one of the listed methods. Let’s see them both.
- Hide From Uninstall
Let’s start with the simplest method first. As the name suggests, Hide From Uninstall is a free program that allows you to hide any application on your Windows computer with a simple mouse click or hotkey.
To get started, head to official website and download the application from there.
After the installation is complete, launch the application. Follow the steps below to hide installed apps from here.
- From the main menu, right-click on any app and select Hide from the Programs and Features list.
- As soon as you do this, the chosen app will have its checkmark removed.
- Alternatively, you can hide multiple apps in a single go. Click on Edit and Select All to do that.
- Finally, click on Hide from the Programs and Features list.
Your selected apps will be hidden from here on. If you change your mind later on, you can choose to show your apps once again. Click on Show under the Programs and Features list, and your apps will be back once again.
2. Hide programs through Windows Registry
The Windows Registry is the central repository for all low-level information, settings, and configurations about your Windows installation. You can change almost all important Windows settings. So it’s no surprise that with a little tweaking, Registry Editor can hide certain programs.
However, you should back up the registry before making any changes to it. This is very important because losing registry data can cause serious problems with the operating system.
Here’s where you should start after disabling backups:
- Head to the Start menu search bar, type in ‘regedit,’ and run your registry as the administrator.
- In the Windows Registry, head to the following address and hit Enter:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall- If you’re using 32-bit apps on a 64-bit machine, then head to the following address:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall- From the Uninstall key, locate the program you want to hide.
- In this example, we are hiding Mozilla Firefox.
- Right-click on the Mozilla Firefox folder and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Rename this new value as SystemComponent.
- Double-click on SystemComponent, and enter 1 in the Value data field.
- Click on OK.
That’s it – now close Registry Editor. Then Mozilla Firefox will be successfully hidden. You can repeat the process and hide it for other applications on your computer.
Hiding your installed apps on a Windows PC
On rare occasions, you may need to hide apps on your PC. Whether you want to protect your PC’s apps from other users or because you’re stuck with old data from your leftover apps, following the methods above will hide your apps with a hiccup.
