If you’re a Windows 10 user, you may have noticed that some of your settings are hidden from the app’s main interface. This is because the Settings app is designed to be used as a secondary interface for users who want more control over their computer’s performance and privacy. One way to get around this is to create a customSettings.xml file and place it in your user’s Documents and Settings folder. Then, when you open the Settings app, you’ll see only the customSettings file instead of all of the other settings that are stored in the Windows 10settings app. To hide pages from the Settings app, follow these steps:
- Open the Settings app and click on System on the left side of the screen. This will take you to your system settings.
- In System settings, click on Privacy on the left side of the screen. This will take you to your privacy settings.
- In Privacy settings, click on Security on the left side of the screen. This will take you to your security settings.
You can now hide pages in Windows 10’s Settings app, just as you can hide icons in the Control Panel window. The pages won’t just be hidden in the app itself—there will be no way for users to access the hidden pages. Support for hiding Settings pages was added in Windows 10’s Creators Update.
This allows you to lock down a computer and prevent users from changing certain settings, which is particularly useful on a business network. If you have a Pro or Enterprise edition of Windows 10, you can do this with the Group Policy editor. If you have a Home edition of Windows 10, you can do this by editing the registry.
First, Choose Which Pages You Want to Hide
Whether you use the Registry Editor or Local Group Policy Editor, you’ll need to provide either a hide: value that specifies a list of pages you want to hide, or a showonly: value that specifies only the pages you want to show (all other pages will be hidden).
To create this value, type hide: or showonly: and follow it with as many uniform resource locator names as you like, separating each with a semicolon (;) character.
For example, to hide the Display page, the USB page, and the About page, you’d use:
To show only the About page, you’d use:
If all the pages in a section are hidden, Windows won’t show that section’s icon on the main Settings screen.
Here’s a full list of URIs you can use to specify various Settings pages. You can use these names to launch these pages directly from anywhere in Windows—press Windows+R, type prefix the name with ms-settings:, and press Enter. For example, to launch the About page, you’d type ms-settings:about.
System
Display: display Notifications & actions: notifications Power & sleep: powersleep Battery: batterysaver Battery > Battery usage by app: batterysaver-usagedetails Storage: storagesense Tablet mode: tabletmode Multitasking: multitasking Projecting to this PC: project Shared Experiences: crossdevice About: about
Devices
Bluetooth & other devices: bluetooth Printers & scanners: printers Mouse: mousetouchpad Touchpad: devices-touchpad Typing: typing Pen & Windows Ink: pen AutoPlay: autoplay USB: usb
Network & Internet
Status: network-status Cellular & SIM: network-cellular Wi-Fi: network-wifi Wi-Fi > Manage known networks: network-wifisettings Ethernet: network-ethernet Dial-up: network-dialup VPN: network-vpn Airplane mode: network-airplanemode Mobile hotspot: network-mobilehotspot Data usage: datausage Proxy: network-proxy
Personalization
Background: personalization-background Colors: colors Lock screen: lockscreen Themes: themes Start: personalization-start Taskbar: taskbar
Apps
Apps & features: appsfeatures Apps & features > Manage optional features: optionalfeatures Default apps: defaultapps Offline maps: maps Apps for websites: appsforwebsites
Accounts
Your info: yourinfo Email & app accounts: emailandaccounts Sign-in options: signinoptions Access work or school: workplace Family & other people: otherusers Sync your settings: sync
Time & language
Date & time: dateandtime Region & language: regionlanguage Speech: speech
Gaming
Game bar: gaming-gamebar Game DVR: gaming-gamedvr Broadcasting: gaming-broadcasting Game Mode: gaming-gamemode
Ease of Access
Narrator: easeofaccess-narrator Magnifier: easeofaccess-magnifier High contrast: easeofaccess-highcontrast Closed captions: easeofaccess-closedcaptioning Keyboard: easeofaccess-keyboard Mouse: easeofaccess-mouse Other options: easeofaccess-otheroptions
Privacy
General: privacy Location: privacy-location Camera: privacy-webcam Microphone: privacy-microphone Notifications: privacy-notifications Speech, inking, & typing: privacy-speechtyping Account info: privacy-accountinfo Contacts: privacy-contacts Calendar: privacy-calandar Call History: privacy-callhistory Email: privacy-email Tasks: privacy-tasks Messaging: privacy-messaging Radios: privacy-radios Other devices: privacy-customdevices Feedback & diagnostics: privacy-feedback Background apps: privacy-backgroundapps App diagnostics: privacy-appdiagnostics
Update & security
Windows Update: windowsupdate Windows Update > Check for updates: windowsupdate-action Windows Update > Update history: windowsupdate-history Windows Update > Restart options: windowsupdate-restartoptions Windows Update > Advanced options: windowsupdate-options Windows Defender: windowsdefender Backup: backup Troubleshoot: troubleshoot Recovery: recovery Activation: activation Find My Device: findmydevice For developers: developers Windows Insider Program: windowsinsider
Mixed reality
Mixed reality: holographic Audio and speech: holographic-audio
Home Users: Hide Settings Pages By Editing the Registry
If you have Windows 10 Home, you will have to edit the Windows Registry to make these changes. You can also do it this way if you have Windows Pro or Enterprise, but just feel more comfortable working in the Registry. (If you have Pro or Enterprise, though, we recommend using the easier Local Group Policy Editor, as described in the next section.)
Standard warning: Registry Editor is a powerful tool and misusing it can render your system unstable or even inoperable. This is a pretty simple hack and as long as you stick to the instructions, you shouldn’t have any problems. That said, if you’ve never worked with it before, consider reading about how to use the Registry Editor before you get started. And definitely back up the Registry (and your computer!) before making changes.
RELATED: Learning to Use the Registry Editor Like a Pro
Open the Registry Editor by hitting Start and typing “regedit”. Press Enter to open Registry Editor and give it permission to make changes to your PC.
In the Registry Editor, use the left sidebar to navigate to the following key or copy and paste the following line into the address bar at the top of the window:
Right-click in the right pane and select New > String Value. Name the new value “SettingsPageVisibility”.
Double-click the SettingsPageVisibility value you just created and enter a value in the form hide:URI;URI;URI or showonly:URI;URI;URI . Click “OK” when you’re done.
Close the Settings window if it’s open. The next time you reopen it, any hidden pages won’t be visible. You can close the Registry Editor now, if you like.
To undo your changes, you can return to the registry here and delete the SettingsPageVisibility value. You can also return here and edit the value to configure which pages are and aren’t shown.
Pro and Enterprise Users: Hide Settings Pages with Local Group Policy Editor
If you’re using Windows Pro or Enterprise, the easiest way to hide Settings pages is by using the Local Group Policy Editor.
You should also be aware that group policy is a pretty powerful tool, so it’s worth taking some time to learn what it can do. Also, if you’re on a company network, do everyone a favor and check with your admin first. If your work computer is part of a domain, it’s also likely that it’s part of a domain group policy that will supersede the local group policy, anyway.
RELATED: How to Apply Local Group Policy Tweaks to Specific Users
First, launch the Local Group Policy editor by opening your Start menu, typing “gpedit.msc”, and pressing Enter.
Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel. Double-click the “Settings Page Visibility” value in the right pane.
Set the policy to “Enabled” and enter the showonly: or hide: value in the box here. Click “OK” when you’re done.
Close the Settings app if it’s open and re-open it. The pages you hid will no longer appear in the app. To ensure the policy is applied immediately, you can open a Command Prompt window as Administrator and run the following command:
To undo your change, return to the Group Policy editor and set the “Settings Page Visibility” policy back to “Not Configured”.
