Allow the display of image download placeholders: registry value Show image placeholdersUserHKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

Policy ID: ShowPlaceholders
Scope: User Configuration
Supported on: At least Internet Explorer 7.0
Source: Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category: Windows Components › Internet Explorer › Internet Settings › Advanced settings › Multimedia

Registry

Show image placeholders

REG_DWORDUser

HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main Current key

Enabled value: 1
Disabled value: 0

Apply with .reg · CMD · PowerShell

.reg

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main]

; Options (use only one)
; Enabled
"Show image placeholders"=dword:00000001
; Disabled
"Show image placeholders"=dword:00000000

CMD

:: Options (use only one)

:: Enabled
reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main" /v "Show image placeholders" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
:: Disabled
reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main" /v "Show image placeholders" /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

PowerShell

# Common: create the key
New-Item -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main' -Force | Out-Null

# Options (use only one)
# Enabled
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main' -Name 'Show image placeholders' -PropertyType DWord -Value 1 -Force | Out-Null
# Disabled
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main' -Name 'Show image placeholders' -PropertyType DWord -Value 0 -Force | Out-Null