How to Disable Control Panel and Settings on Windows

Control Panel and the Settings app are where users change network, account, display, and security settings - exactly the things you want locked on a shared or kiosk PC. Windows lets you block them entirely or hide only specific pages. This guide covers the Group Policy and registry methods, what they do to both Control Panel and Settings, and how to enforce the block for every user.

Why lock Control Panel and Settings

From Control Panel and Settings a user can change the network configuration, add or remove accounts, disable security features, or alter the display and personalization you have standardized.

On kiosks, labs, and clinical or retail machines, blocking these keeps the system configuration exactly as IT set it.

Block everything or hide specific pages

You have two levels of control, depending on how strict you need to be.

  • Full block - 'Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC settings' closes both Control Panel and the modern Settings app
  • Hide pages - hide or show only named Control Panel applets, or use SettingsPageVisibility to allow only chosen Settings pages
  • The full block is per-user policy, so it applies to whichever accounts you configure

Limits of the manual method

The NoControlPanel policy lives in the per-user registry hive, so it must be set for every account that signs in. It is also reversible by anyone who can reach the registry, and on Home editions there is no Group Policy Editor to configure it from.

A managed agent applies the block for all users, keeps it in place after tampering, and lets you switch between full block and page-level hiding centrally.

Disable Control Panel and Settings via Group Policy or the registry

  1. Open the Group Policy Editor - Press Win+R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter (Windows Pro, Enterprise, and Education).
  2. Find the Control Panel policy - Go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel.
  3. Enable the block - Double-click 'Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC settings', set it to Enabled, and click OK. This also blocks the Settings app.
  4. Registry alternative (all editions) - Open regedit and go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer. Create a DWORD named NoControlPanel and set it to 1.
  5. Apply and verify - Run gpupdate /force or sign out and back in, then try to open Control Panel or Settings. Access should be denied with an administrator message.

Frequently asked questions

Does NoControlPanel also block the Settings app?

Yes. The 'Prohibit access to Control Panel and PC settings' policy and the NoControlPanel registry value block both the classic Control Panel and the modern Settings app.

Can I hide only some Control Panel pages?

Yes. Instead of a full block you can use the show-only or hide-specified applet policies for Control Panel, and SettingsPageVisibility to allow only chosen Settings pages.

Will this work on Windows Home?

The registry method works on all editions. Home has no Group Policy Editor, so set the NoControlPanel value directly or use a managed agent.

How do I apply it to every account on a shared PC?

NoControlPanel is per-user, so it must be set in each account's hive. A managed agent applies it to all users and re-applies it if it is changed.

Lock Control Panel and Settings across your fleet

CtrlOne blocks Control Panel and Settings - fully or page by page - for every user, tamper-resistant and managed from one console.