Windows displays all enabled local user accounts on the sign-in screen by default. While this behavior is convenient for most home users, it can clutter the login screen or expose service and administrator accounts that should remain hidden.
Fortunately, Windows provides a simple registry-based method to hide specific accounts without disabling them or affecting their functionality.
In this blog post, we will walk through how to hide individual Windows user accounts from the login screen.
- Why Hide a User Account?
- Before You Begin
- Step 1: Open Registry Editor
- Step 2: Browse to the Winlogon Key
- Step 3: Create the User Entry
- Step 4: Set the Value
- Step 5: Restart Windows
- Restoring the Account
- Things to Keep in Mind
- Final Thoughts
Why Hide a User Account?
Hiding an account is useful in several situations:
- Hide local administrator accounts
- Hide service accounts
- Reduce clutter on shared computers
- Improve security by not advertising privileged accounts
- Keep administrative accounts available for remote management while hiding them from casual users
The account continues to function normally—you can still log in manually, use Remote Desktop, run scheduled tasks, or access network resources.
Before You Begin
You’ll need:
- Administrative privileges
- Registry Editor (
regedit) - The exact username of the account you want to hide
It is also recommended to create a System Restore Point before modifying the Windows Registry.
Step 1: Open Registry Editor
Press Win + R, type:
regedit
Then press Enter.
Step 2: Browse to the Winlogon Key
Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
If the following keys do not already exist, create them:
- SpecialAccounts
- UserList
Your final path should be:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList
This registry location is the supported method commonly used to hide individual local user accounts from the sign-in screen.
Step 3: Create the User Entry
Inside the UserList key:
- Right-click
- Select New → DWORD (32-bit) Value
- Name the DWORD exactly the same as the Windows username you want to hide
For example:
- Administrator
- BackupAdmin
- ServiceAccount
The name must exactly match the local account name.
Step 4: Set the Value
Double-click the new DWORD and set its value to:
0
A value of:
- 0 = Hide the account
- 1 = Show the account
No other registry changes are required.
Step 5: Restart Windows
Restart the computer.
After rebooting, the specified account will no longer appear on the Windows login screen.
The account itself still exists and remains fully functional.
Restoring the Account
If you later decide to show the account again, simply:
- Change the DWORD value to 1
- Or delete the DWORD entirely
Restart Windows and the account will once again appear on the sign-in screen.
Things to Keep in Mind
Hiding an account does not:
- Delete the account
- Disable the account
- Remove permissions
- Prevent remote logins
- Affect scheduled tasks or services
It only removes the account from the graphical sign-in screen.
Final Thoughts
Hiding user accounts is a simple way to keep the Windows login screen clean while reducing the visibility of administrative or service accounts. Because the underlying account remains active, this technique works well for system administrators who need dedicated management accounts without exposing them to everyday users.
For additional information, Microsoft’s community guidance and other Windows administration resources describe the same registry-based approach for hiding individual local user accounts.
