How to Hide Notification Content on Windows 11 Lock Screen

This guide will show you how to turn on or off hiding notification content when notifications appear on your Windows 11 lock screen.

Why This Matters

Notifications are alerts from apps and your system. Windows 11 shows notifications in three places: your lock screen (Win+L), your Notification Center (Win+N), and as banners in the lower-right corner of your screen above the taskbar.

You can choose to hide what notifications say when they appear on your lock screen. This keeps your private messages and alerts hidden from people who might see your screen.

What You’ll Need

You have two ways to do this. Pick the method that feels easiest to you.

Method One: Using Settings

1. Open Settings by pressing Win+I.
2. Click System on the left side, then click Notifications on the right side.
3. Under “Notifications from apps and other senders,” click the app you want to change.
4. Turn On (the default setting) or Off the option that says “Hide content when notifications are on lock screen.” Choose what works best for you.
5. When you’re done, you can close Settings.

Method Two: Using Registry Editor

⚠️ Admin Privileges Required — You need administrator access for this method.

1. Open Registry Editor by typing regedit.exe in the search bar and pressing Enter.
   

2. In the left pane, navigate to this location:
   

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Notifications\Settings

3. Under the “Settings” folder in the left pane, click the app you want to change (for example: “Microsoft.YourPhone_8wekyb3d8bbwe!YourPhoneMessages”).

Turn On Hiding Notification Content (Default Setting)

1. In the right pane, look for the value called AllowContentAboveLock.
2. Right-click on AllowContentAboveLock and click Delete.
   

   If you don’t see AllowContentAboveLock, your app is already set to hide content. Skip to the final step.

3. Click Yes to confirm the deletion.
   

Turn Off Hiding Notification Content

1. In the right pane, double-click the AllowContentAboveLock value to open it.
   

   If AllowContentAboveLock doesn’t exist, right-click in the empty space of the right pane. Click New, then click DWORD (32-bit) Value. Type AllowContentAboveLock as the name and press Enter.

2. Type 1 in the “Value data” field.
3. Click OK.
4. When done, close Registry Editor.

Summary

Why this matters: Hiding notification content on your lock screen keeps your private messages and alerts private from people nearby.

What happens when done: Your notifications will either show or hide their content on the lock screen, depending on which option you chose. This setting applies to the specific app you selected.

Two easy ways: Use Settings for a simple approach, or use Registry Editor if you prefer working with system files directly.