Lorene Melone
How To Disable the Security Tab in File Explorer Using Group Policy
Dealing with that sneaky Security tab in File Explorer can be a headache—sometimes it’s clutter, other times a security concern if folks poke around permissions they shouldn’t. Removing it via Group Policy isn’t the worst idea, especially if you want to tighten things up or hide certain options from less tech-savvy users. The idea is: you tweak some system policies, and voila, the Security tab vanishes from the context menu and properties. But beware—only applies if you’ve got admin rights and can access the Group Policy Editor.
It’s kind of weird how some methods work on one machine and not another. Sometimes a reboot or a policy refresh is enough, other times, you have to dig a little deeper or check the applied policies with gpresult /h report.html. Since Windows tends to be stubborn, expect that you might need to revisit some steps or force a refresh if changes don’t show up right away.
How to Fix the Security Tab in File Explorer with Group Policy
Access Your Workstation and Open Group Policy Editor
- If you’re messing with policies, you really want to run
gpmc.mscfrom the Run dialog (Windows + R) or directly in the search box. Just typegpmc.mscand hit Enter. If that doesn’t work, no worries—look for the Local Group Policy Editor by typing gpedit.msc, but bear in mind, some Windows editions (like Home) don’t include GPO management out of the box. For those, you might need third-party tools or scripts.
Method 1: Create and Link a GPO to Remove the Security Tab
This approach is pretty standard and works well if you’re managing a small set of users or computers in an Active Directory environment. Basically, you’re making a policy that disables or hides the Security tab. It’s the kind of thing that’s useful if you want users not to accidentally change permissions or see sensitive info.
Step-by-step to set it up:
- Navigate to the Group Policy Objects folder in the GPMC (Group Policy Management Console). Right-click on it, select New, and give the GPO a clear name like “Hide Security Tab”.
- Right-click this new GPO and choose Edit. This opens up the Group Policy Management Editor.
- Expand User Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer (or Windows Explorer, depending on your Windows version). If you don’t see File Explorer, you might be in an older system or need to look in System policies.
- On some setups, you’ll find a setting called Remove Security Tab or similar. If it’s not there, it might be under a different name or not available in your Windows version. But on Windows 10/11 Pro and Enterprise, it should show up.
- Double-click Remove Security Tab and set it to Enabled. This basically tells Windows to hide the tab.
- Apply settings and hit OK. This is the core step that tells the OS to hide the tab.
On some machines, after changing this setting, you might need to restart or run gpupdate /force in Command Prompt to force a policy refresh. Sometimes, even then, the change isn’t instant, so expect to do a quick logoff or restart.
Step 4: Link the GPO to the Correct Organizational Unit (OU)
- Find the OU (like Users) where the target accounts live. Right-click it, choose Link an Existing GPO, and select the “Hide Security Tab” policy you just made.
- Done—now the policy applies to all users in that OU once refreshed. A reboot or
gpupdate /forcecan help here.
Extra Tips & Common Pitfalls
- Make sure your users aren’t logged in before you apply the policy, or force a refresh with
gpupdate /force. - If the Security tab still shows up, double-check you’re targeting the right OU or user group.
- Sometimes, local policies override active directory ones, so check gpedit.msc on a local machine if you have access.
- In big setups, running gpresult /h report.html can help diagnose why policies aren’t applying as expected.
Additional note: What if the setting isn’t visible?
If you can’t find Remove Security Tab in File Explorer policies, it might be because of Windows version differences. Another way is to tweak the Registry directly—though that’s a bit riskier if you’re not comfortable editing system files. Search for `HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer` and see if any keys related to the Security tab are hiding there, but be sure to back up first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I only hide the Security tab for certain users?
Yep. The best way is to set up an OU or security group, then link the GPO only to that group—works pretty reliably. If you’re on a single machine, local policies can do the job, too, but they’re less flexible.
So, how do I undo this if I change my mind?
Just go back into the GPO, disable or delete the setting, and run gpupdate /force. The tab should come back after a reboot or refresh.
Will this mess up other features?
Probably not, but Windows can always surprise you. If something’s broken after applying the policy, it’s worth checking whether other policies conflict or if there’s a system update. And yeah, older Windows versions might not respect the GPO as well.
Summary
- Create a new GPO that targets your user/computer group.
- Navigate to User Configuration > Policies > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > File Explorer.
- Enable Remove Security Tab.
- Link the GPO to the appropriate OU or security group.
- Force a policy update with
gpupdate /forceor give it a few minutes.
Wrap-up
Removing the Security tab with Group Policy is kinda straightforward, but not 100% foolproof. On some systems, you might have to do additional tweaks or rely on third-party tools. Still, it’s pretty handy for admins who want to keep users out of permissions that could mess stuff up. Fingers crossed this helps someone save a few headaches. Good luck!