How to change User Account Control (UAC) settings on Windows 10

• To change the UAC on Windows 10, open Control Panel > System and Security > Change User Account Control settings.
• Select the appropriate UAC setting, such as “Never notify,” to disable the feature. 
• The options will vary depending on whether you use a Standard or Administrator account.

On Windows 10, User Account Control (UAC) is a security feature that blocks apps from making unwanted system changes, helps users to prevent accidental settings changes, and stops malware from getting into your system without your knowledge.

When UAC is enabled, if an app tries to make changes, Windows 10 will pop a security warning which the user must approve to allow the app to perform the task. If the user uses a standard account, they’ll need to enter administrative credentials to run a particular task requiring higher privileges.

In short, User Account Control allows users to work in a more secure environment. However, there are some situations where you may want to disable or configure the feature differently. For example, when you use legacy apps not designed to work in this environment, or you know exactly what you’re doing and prefer to run Windows 10 without this feature.

If you want to make changes or disable UAC completely, Windows 10 offers the necessary settings to prevent the User Access Control dialog from appearing every time a task needs elevation.

This guide will teach you the steps to manage the User Account Control (UAC) settings on Windows 10.

Change UAC settings on Windows 10

To change User Account Control settings, your account must have administrator privileges. Otherwise, you’ll need to provide an administrator password to adjust the settings.

To change the UAC settings on Windows 10, use these steps:

1. Open Control Panel.

2. Click on System and Security.

3. Click the “Change User Account Control settings” option.

   

4. On a Standard user account, you’ll see the four levels, but you can only change two of them:

   • Always notify me when: This is the default option on every standard user account, and it pops the UAC dialog when apps try to install another software or make changes to the system and when you try to change settings.
   • Always notify me (and do not dim my desktop): This option blocks apps and users’ system changes just like “Always notify me when,” but with the difference that you can still have access to the desktop to continue working on other tasks.
   • Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (don’t dim my desktop), and Never notify me when (which disables UAC) are not options that can be configured on a Standard account.

5. On an Administrator user account, you’ll see the four levels, and you can select any one of them:

   • Always notify me when: This option pops the UAC dialog when apps try to install another software or make changes to the system and when you try to change settings.
   • Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer: This is the default level for every administrator account, and it doesn’t notify you when making settings changes.
   • Notify me only when apps try to make changes to my computer (do not dim my desktop): Using this option, you won’t get notifications when making changes, but with the difference that you can still have access to the desktop to continue working on other tasks.
   • Never notify me when: This option disables UAC completely on Windows 10.

   

6. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, restart your computer to apply the settings on Windows 10.

While it’s possible to change the User Account Control (UAC) settings on Windows 10, it’s always recommended to leave the default configuration for better security.

It’s important to note that there are ways to disable UAC using the Registry, but Standard users will experience unwanted behaviors. As such, it’s not recommended to go that route.

If you want to disable the User Account Control feature (not recommended), you’ll need to change the account type to Administrator and then follow the steps to select the “Never notify me when” option using the slider.