{"id":1774,"date":"2025-11-09T23:58:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-09T23:58:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/?p=1774"},"modified":"2025-11-09T23:58:31","modified_gmt":"2025-11-09T23:58:31","slug":"hide-a-local-user-account-from-the-sign-in-screen-in-windows-11-by-gui-or-by-powershell-admin-script","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/?p=1774","title":{"rendered":"Hide a Local User Account from the Sign-In Screen in Windows 11 by GUI or by Powershell Admin\/Script"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Hide a Local User Account from the Sign-In Screen in Windows&nbsp;11 by GUI or by Powershell Admin\/Script<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Overview<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This guide explains how to&nbsp;<strong>create<\/strong>&nbsp;or use a&nbsp;<strong>local Windows 11 user account<\/strong>&nbsp;while&nbsp;<strong>hiding it from the login screen<\/strong>, so that the account remains active and accessible (by name\/password), but does not appear among visible users at sign-in. The script near the end after the GUI steps will make this faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>NOTE: The script is untested as of 6-20-25 because I don&#8217;t have time but from the looks of it seems pretty good. Definitely test on a throwaway vm before deploying the script please. &#8211; Andrae<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This will be good for hiding the Scanning user especially, attention raised from&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/app2.atera.com\/new\/ticket\/3583\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Tavros #3583<\/a>&nbsp;where staff was concerned about having this extra user installed for no clear reason. We can use this to hide service accounts as needed so it doesn&#8217;t become a concern for anyone that might be a little more tech-fearful or just wants more cleanliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd12 Who This Is For<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Administrators creating service, support, or maintenance accounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Users who want to keep an account functional but discreet (not visible to regular users).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2705 Requirements<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You must be logged in with an\u00a0<strong>administrator<\/strong>\u00a0account.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be comfortable using the\u00a0<strong>Registry Editor<\/strong>\u00a0(<code>regedit.exe<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\ud83d\udc47\u00a0<strong>(Optional)<\/strong>\u00a0Backup your registry or create a System Restore point.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\uddf0 Step-by-Step Guide<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Open Registry Editor<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Press\u00a0<strong>Win + R<\/strong>, type\u00a0<code>regedit<\/code>, and press\u00a0<strong>Enter<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Navigate to This Key<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">CopyEdit<code>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\\n SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\\n CurrentVersion\\Winlogon\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Create Required Subkeys<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Right-click\u00a0<strong>Winlogon<\/strong>\u00a0\u279c\u00a0<strong>New<\/strong>\u00a0\u279c\u00a0<strong>Key<\/strong>, name it\u00a0<code>SpecialAccounts<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Under\u00a0<code>SpecialAccounts<\/code>, create\u00a0<strong>another<\/strong>\u00a0key named\u00a0<code>UserList<\/code>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Add the User to Hide<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Select\u00a0<code>UserList<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In the right pane, right-click \u279c\u00a0<strong>New<\/strong>\u00a0\u279c\u00a0<strong>DWORD (32-bit) Value<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Name it\u00a0<strong>exactly<\/strong>\u00a0as the local user account (e.g.,\u00a0<code>SupportUser<\/code>).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Set its value to:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><code>0<\/code>\u00a0to\u00a0<strong>hide<\/strong>\u00a0the account<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>1<\/code>\u00a0(or delete the entry) to\u00a0<strong>show<\/strong>\u00a0it again<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wintips.org\/how-to-hide-an-account-in-login-screen-on-windows-10-11\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">umatechnology.org+11wintips.org+11thewindowsclub.com+11<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.elevenforum.com\/t\/hide-or-show-users-on-sign-in-screen-in-windows-11.16735\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">elevenforum.com<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/hide-specific-user-accounts-from-the-sign-in-screen-on-windows-10?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">thewindowsclub.com<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/woshub.com\/how-to-show-all-users-accounts-on-windows-10-login-screen\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">techdirectarchive.com+3woshub.com+3umatechnology.org+3<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Restart Windows<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Logs off or reboot the PC to apply changes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The specified user will no longer appear on the Windows 11 login screen, although the account is still active with its password intact<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wintips.org\/how-to-hide-an-account-in-login-screen-on-windows-10-11\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wintips.org+1umatechnology.org+1<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd04 Unhide or Re-enable an Account<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To undo, open the same registry location and either:\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Set the user\u2019s DWORD value to\u00a0<strong>1<\/strong>, or<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Delete<\/strong>\u00a0the DWORD entry.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Restart the computer to make it visible again<a href=\"https:\/\/answers.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/forum\/all\/after-hiding-admin-user-account-from-login-screen\/971cb73d-0ffc-4359-9e3b-ec9c8ed98a92?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">elevenforum.com+8answers.microsoft.com+8woshub.com+8<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.checksomebytes.com\/registry\/hidden_users\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">superuser.com+2checksomebytes.com+20xjamesli.com+2<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd14 Important Notes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Account remains usable<\/strong>: Users can still log on if they manually type the account name and password (e.g. via `Ctrl+Alt+Del \u279c \u201cOther User\u201d)<a href=\"https:\/\/0xjamesli.com\/how-to-hide-a-user-account-in-windows\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">superuser.com+20xjamesli.com+2wintips.org+2<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Does not increase security<\/strong>: This is an obscurity measure, not real protection\u2014admins with registry or local privileges can still see and modify hidden accounts.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Admin account caution<\/strong>: If you hide the\u00a0<em>only<\/em>\u00a0admin-level account, consider having another visible admin available to avoid lockout<a href=\"https:\/\/www.checksomebytes.com\/registry\/hidden_users\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">0xjamesli.com+4checksomebytes.com+4wintips.org+4<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udc65 Alternative Methods<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Method<\/th><th>Description<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><strong>Disable the Account<\/strong><\/td><td>Makes the account unusable, not just hidden. Run:&nbsp;<code>net user username \/active:no<\/code><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wintips.org\/how-to-hide-an-account-in-login-screen-on-windows-10-11\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">techssh.com+7wintips.org+7superuser.com+7<\/a><\/td><\/tr><tr><td><strong>Group Policy<\/strong><\/td><td>Enterprise\/Pro users can adjust GPO to hide last user or enumerate accounts; not aimed at per-user hiding<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd0d Troubleshooting<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Registry path must be\u00a0<strong>exact<\/strong>, including spelling and capitalization.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensure the\u00a0<strong>username matches<\/strong>\u00a0exactly (including spaces or symbols).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If changes aren\u2019t immediate,\u00a0<strong>reboot<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If locked out of admin rights, you can still revert using\u00a0<code>runas<\/code>\u00a0from a standard account<a href=\"https:\/\/answers.microsoft.com\/en-us\/windows\/forum\/all\/after-hiding-admin-user-account-from-login-screen\/971cb73d-0ffc-4359-9e3b-ec9c8ed98a92?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">answers.microsoft.com+1superuser.com+1<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2705 Summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To hide an active local user account from the Windows&nbsp;11 sign-in screen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use Registry Editor to add a DWORD under:CopyEdit<code>HKLM\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\Winlogon\\SpecialAccounts\\UserList<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Name it after the user and set the value to\u00a0<strong>0<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Restart the computer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To unhide, change value to\u00a0<strong>1<\/strong>\u00a0or delete it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>This method effectively hides the account from the login UI, while preserving its functionality\u2014useful for behind-the-scenes or admin accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udcda Sources<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>WinTips.org guide on hiding accounts via registry<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wintips.org\/how-to-hide-an-account-in-login-screen-on-windows-10-11\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">checksomebytes.com+11wintips.org+11woshub.com+11<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/superuser.com\/questions\/1365614\/hide-administrator-account-from-windows-login-screen?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">0xjamesli.com+3superuser.com+3woshub.com+3<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com\/hide-specific-user-accounts-from-the-sign-in-screen-on-windows-10?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">umatechnology.org+6thewindowsclub.com+6woshub.com+6<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/woshub.com\/how-to-show-all-users-accounts-on-windows-10-login-screen\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">elevenforum.com+2woshub.com+2techdirectarchive.com+2<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Microsoft Q&amp;A confirmation of registry keys<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Windows OS Hub article on UserList DWORDs<a href=\"https:\/\/woshub.com\/how-to-show-all-users-accounts-on-windows-10-login-screen\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">techdirectarchive.com+9woshub.com+9answers.microsoft.com+9<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>James Li\u2019s guide noting instant effect<a href=\"https:\/\/0xjamesli.com\/how-to-hide-a-user-account-in-windows\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">0xjamesli.com<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me know if you&#8217;d like screenshots, automation scripts, or batch commands to make this process even easier!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/s2\/favicons?domain=https:\/\/www.thewindowsclub.com&amp;sz=32\" alt=\"Favicon\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/s2\/favicons?domain=https:\/\/www.elevenforum.com&amp;sz=32\" alt=\"Favicon\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/s2\/favicons?domain=https:\/\/www.wintips.org&amp;sz=32\" alt=\"Favicon\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Sources<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You said:<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>A powershell script to do this even quicker would be awesome if you&#8217;ve got it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ChatGPT said:<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s a PowerShell script that automates hiding (or unhiding) a local user account from the Windows 11 login screen by updating the registry:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">powershellCopyEdit<code>&lt;#\n .SYNOPSIS\n   Hide or show a local user account on the login screen (Windows 10\/11).\n .PARAMETER Username\n   Name of the local user account to toggle.\n .PARAMETER Hide\n   Specify $true to hide the account, $false to show (or remove) it.\n .EXAMPLE\n   .\\HideLocalUser.ps1 -Username \"ServiceAccount\" -Hide $true\n#&gt;\n\nparam(\n  [Parameter(Mandatory)][string]$Username,\n  [Parameter()][bool]$Hide = $true\n)\n\n$regPath = \"HKLM:\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\Winlogon\\SpecialAccounts\\UserList\"\n\n# Ensure the key path exists\nif (-not (Test-Path $regPath)) {\n    New-Item -Path $regPath -Force | Out-Null\n}\n\n# Set DWORD to 0 to hide, 1 (or delete) to show\nif ($Hide) {\n    New-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name $Username -PropertyType DWORD -Value 0 -Force | Out-Null\n    Write-Output \"\u2705 '$Username' is now hidden from the login screen.\"\n} else {\n    # Option A: Set value to 1\n    if (Get-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name $Username -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {\n        Remove-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name $Username -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue\n    }\n    Write-Output \"\u2705 '$Username' is now visible on the login screen.\"\n}\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udccc How to Use<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Save<\/strong>\u00a0the above script as\u00a0<code>HideLocalUser.ps1<\/code>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Open PowerShell as Administrator<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Run<\/strong>\u00a0to hide:powershellCopyEdit<code>.\\HideLocalUser.ps1 -Username \"YourUserName\" -Hide $true<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Or run<\/strong>\u00a0to unhide:powershellCopyEdit<code>.\\HideLocalUser.ps1 -Username \"YourUserName\" -Hide $false<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Reboot<\/strong>\u00a0the PC to apply the changes and refresh the sign-in screen.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udde0 How It Works<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It uses PowerShell&#8217;s registry provider to create the key and DWORD entry in:<br><code>HKLM:\\SOFTWARE\\Microsoft\\Windows NT\\CurrentVersion\\Winlogon\\SpecialAccounts\\UserList<\/code><a href=\"https:\/\/techssh.com\/windows\/hide-a-user-account-from-the-login-screen-in-windows-10-11\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">techdirectarchive.com+11techssh.com+11github.com+11<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wintips.org\/how-to-hide-an-account-in-login-screen-on-windows-10-11\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">learn.microsoft.com+2wintips.org+2superuser.com+2<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A value of\u00a0<code>0<\/code>\u00a0hides the account; removing the entry (or setting it to\u00a0<code>1<\/code>) makes it visible again<a href=\"https:\/\/www.checksomebytes.com\/registry\/hidden_users\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">checksomebytes.com+1superuser.com+1<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This leverages the same registry settings used by the manual method, wrapped in an easy-to-use script\u00a0.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2705 Bonus Tip<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To quickly hide built-in or admin accounts, you can edit the script like this (no prompts):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\">powershellCopyEdit<code>.\\HideLocalUser.ps1 -Username \"Administrator\" -Hide $true\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p>Great for service or admin user automation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hide a Local User Account from the Sign-In Screen in Windows&nbsp;11 by GUI or by Powershell Admin\/Script Overview This guide explains how to&nbsp;create&nbsp;or use a&nbsp;local Windows 11 user account&nbsp;while&nbsp;hiding it from the login screen, so that the account remains active and accessible (by name\/password), but does not appear among visible users at sign-in. The script [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[98,120],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-it-knowledge-base-articles","category-windows","post-preview"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1774"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1775,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1774\/revisions\/1775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ultrexstaff.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}