Allow the use of biometrics

Policy ID
Biometrics_EnableBio
Scope
Computer Configuration
Supported on
At least Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows 7
Source
Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category
Windows Components › Biometrics

Description

This policy setting allows or prevents the Windows Biometric Service to run on this computer.

If you enable or do not configure this policy setting, the Windows Biometric Service is available, and users can run applications that use biometrics on Windows. If you want to enable the ability to log on with biometrics, you must also configure the "Allow users to log on using biometrics" policy setting.

If you disable this policy setting, the Windows Biometric Service is unavailable, and users cannot use any biometric feature in Windows.

Note: Users who log on using biometrics should create a password recovery disk; this will prevent data loss in the event that someone forgets their logon credentials.

Registry

ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
  • EnabledREG_DWORD

Other policies in the same category

View all policies in this category (4)