This article describes steps to hide or show the Windows Security app Device security section in Windows 11.
The Windows Security app is a built-in application that comes with Windows 11. It provides a centralized dashboard to see what’s happening with your device’s security and health and take any necessary actions.
The app has many sections that allow you to quickly see the status of your virus and threat protection, firewall and network security, Account protection, App and Browser Control, and more.
The Device Security section provides the settings to help protect your device from malicious software attacks. They will also see Core isolation, Secure boot, and Data encryption for supported devices in this section.
If you have configured your device’s security settings to suit your environment and don’t want others to change or mess with these settings, you can hide these sections from users.
On the other hand, if these sections are hidden and you want to show them again, you can use the guide below.
How to hide or show the Device security section with Windows Security app in Windows 11
As described above, the App & browser control section provides the settings for Microsoft Defender SmartScreen, which helps protect your device from potentially dangerous apps, files, websites, and downloads.
First, open Local Group Policy Editor by clicking on the Start Menu and searching for Edit group policy, as highlighted below.
Under Best match, select Edit group policy to launch Local Group Policy Editor.
In the left pane of Local Group Policy Editor, expand the tree:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Security > Device security
Then, in the Device security details pane on the right, locate and double-click the setting that says “Hide the Device security area.”
On the Hide the Device security area window set the option to Not Configure, Enabled, or Disabled.
- Not Configured (default)
- Enabled – The Device security area will be hidden.
- Disabled – The Device security area will be shown.
Display or hide the Device security section in Windows Security via Windows Registry
If you can’t open the Local Group Policy Editor, you can use the Windows Registry instead.
Open the Windows Registry, and navigate to the folder key path as listed below.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender Security Center\Device security
If you don’t see the Windows Defender Security Center -> Device security folder key, right-click on the Windows key, then create both key folders.
On the right pane of the Device security folder key, right-click and select New -> DWORD (32-bit) Value. Next, type a new key named UILockdown.
Double-click the new key and enter the Value data as 0 to show the Device security section in Windows Security app.
A Value data of 1 will hide the Device security section in the Windows Security app.
Restart your computer, and the Device security section will be hidden or will be displayed.
That should do it!
Reference:
Conclusion:
- This guide has provided detailed steps to either show or hide the Device security section in the Windows Security app for Windows 11, offering users the flexibility to customize the visibility of this crucial security feature.
- If you you encounter any errors within the provided information or have additional valuable insights to contribute, please use the comment section below to share your thoughts.
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