With default installation settings, Windows 11 shows your user account name and user account picture in several places. The login screen, the bottom of the Start menu, Control Panel, and the left pane of the Settings app are a few places where the user profile picture and name appear.
While using your Windows 11 PC, you might not want to see your user account name and picture everywhere. For instance, many users don’t like seeing their name and picture on the Start menu, especially those who often need to share their screen.
All this while, there was no option to hide the user account name and picture from the Start menu. The recently released KB 5120998 update adds an option to hide the username and user picture from the Start menu.
Here is how to hide the user account name and picture from the Windows 11 Start menu.
NOTE: If you have been clicking on the user profile picture on the Start menu to access the Sign out option, worry not! A blank user profile picture will appear in place of your user account picture, letting you access the Sign out option. Alternatively, you can access the sign out option by right-clicking the Start button on the taskbar and then clicking the Shut down or sign out option.
Hide user name and picture from Windows 11 Start menu
Step 1: Open the Windows 11 Settings app. On the left pane of the Settings app, click Personalization. Now, on the right side, click Start to access Start menu settings.
Step 2: Here, scroll down the page to see the Hide your name and profile picture on Start option.
Step 3: Turn on the Hide your name and profile picture on Start option to hide your name and picture from the Start menu immediately.
As mentioned before, a blank user profile picture will replace your user account name and picture. A right-click on the blank profile icon will bring up a flyout that shows details about your account as well as an option to sign out.
Our how to open the Start menu without Windows key guide might also interest you.
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