Windows 10, like any other computer, usually gives you the ability to create multiple user accounts. With this, when you share the PC with your family or roommates, each one can have their account with their applications and settings, so there is no scolding about how many useless apps install one or how much it messes the desktop the other.
But you do not always have to want all the created accounts to be seen. Sometimes it is because there are too many, for wanting to hide the administrator, or you simply see unnecessary to appear those users who connect remotely. For those cases, there is a way to hide user accounts in Windows 10.
But before we start we have to give a warning. The process requires changing parameters in the Windows registry, something for which you have to exercise extreme caution if you do not want to damage the operating system. Therefore, although the method itself is simple, if you do not finish being sure of what you do it will be better if you do not touch anything.
You also have to keep in mind that once you make the changes you will not be able to access this user locally again. It will disappear from the system start options, so you will not be able to click on the user to start the system with it. It’s something reversible, but you have to keep in mind to decide how much you need to do it.
First access the user account manager
The first step you have to take is to know exactly what the username of the account you want to hide. It is not the same one that appears when you sign in. For example, my account may have a full name that is Yúbal FM, but the real name of the user in the registry can be another. Therefore, you must first access the user account manager.
There are two ways to access it, using Cortana or the Windows launcher that appears when you press the Windows + R keys . In either case you will have to type the word netplwiz to access. Once inside, you must select the user you want to hide later and click Properties.
The name that you have to take into account is the name that appears in the Username field . That is the one that will have to be searched later in the registry editor, so make sure you point it somewhere or memorize it before moving on.
Editing the System Log
Once you enter this name, enter the subject and access the Registry Editor. To do this just type the word regedit in the search bar Cortana or the execution window that will access programs by pressing Windows + R. The log is shown with two sections, but they are the folders on the left side where you have to navigate.
In them, you must open the folder HKEY LOCAL MACHINE, and go into SOFTWARE, Microsoft, Windows NT and CurrentVersion until you reach a folder called Winlogon. Now you will have to create new keys in the registry, something that you can do with a right click on the space on the right, and choosing the options New -> Key.
The first new key or folder that you have to create will have to be inside Winlogon, and you have to call SpecialAccounts. Then you will enter it, and inside you will have to create another new key that is called UserList. Once done, you have to make sure that the resulting structure is Winlogon SpecialAccounts UserList.
Hiding each user one by one
As the name UserList suggests, within this folder you can add a list with the users that you have created in our PC to determine which of them you want to hide. Do not add them all, since those that do not appear will simply stay as they are, while those that appear can be configured as visible or invisible.
Therefore, the next step is to create the users. To do this, what you have to do is to right-click on the right part of the registry again, and under the New option choose DWORD Value (32-bit). If you do not want to give this value a name, you will have to right click on it to choose the option to change its name.
The name of this new value must be exactly the same as the username you want to hide. Hence, it was so important to know the real user name before. Once done, you will have to right click on the username you have created, and choose the option Edit Value.
When editing the value, the key field that you have to take into account is the Value data. If you put a 0 the user will stop appearing at the login, which as I explained before will not allow anyone to use it locally, but can still be used when accessing remotely.
If after the time you realize that you need a username you’ve hidden reappears, all you have to do is go back to the UserList of the system registry, re-edit the value and replace the 0 with a 1. You can add all the users you need and hide them and make them visible as many times as you want.
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