Hide individual programs in the Control Panel using the Registry Editor#
The Windows Registry has many tricks, one of which allows you to hide specific programs in the Control Panel. This trick involves creating a new DWORD value in the Windows Registry, and here's how you do it.
Then, follow these steps:
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Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
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In the "Run" box, type regedit and click OK. When prompted by User Account Control, click Yes.
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In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstall -
For 32-bit applications installed on a 64-bit PC, navigate to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionUninstall -
You can copy/paste the above paths into the address bar of the Registry Editor for quick navigation. If you don't see the application in the first location, navigate to the second registry path.
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Under the Uninstall key, locate the program folder you want to hide. In this article, we will hide the Google Chrome browser. So, find and select the Google Chrome key.
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Right-click on the Google Chrome folder and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
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Rename the new value to SystemComponent.
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Double-click on SystemComponent, enter 1 in the Value data field, and click OK.
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Close the Registry Editor.
Hide all installed programs using the Group Policy Editor#
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Press Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
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Type gpedit.msc and click OK to open the Group Policy Editor.
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Next, navigate to the following location:
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Programs -
In the right pane, double-click on Hide "Programs and Features" page.
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When the pop-up window appears, select Enabled.
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Click Apply and OK to save the changes.
Now, if you go to "Control Panel > Programs and Features", you will see a message that says "Your system administrator has disabled Programs and Features for all installed applications".
To show the programs again, edit the policy and select Not Configured.
Note that there are two drawbacks to doing this: 1) You have to hide all installed applications, and 2) the message makes it obvious to the user that applications are being hidden.
Hide all programs using the Hide Uninstall List application#
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Download and run the Hide Uninstall List application. It is a portable application, so no installation is required. This is useful for applications that should hide installed programs.
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Right-click on the application name and select Hide from the Programs and Features list.
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If you want to hide all programs, click Edit and Select All.
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Right-click on any application name and select Hide from the Programs and Features list.
To unhide a program, right-click on the application and select Show from the Programs and Features list.