Password protect the screen saver: registry value ScreenSaverIsSecureUserHKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop

Policy ID: CPL_Personalization_ScreenSaverIsSecure
Scope: User Configuration
Supported on: At least Windows 2000 Service Pack 1
Source: Administrative Templates (.admx) for Windows 11 2026 Update (26H2) (version 1.0)
Category: Control Panel › Personalization

Registry

ScreenSaverIsSecure

REG_SZUser

HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop 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\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop]

; Options (use only one)
; Enabled
"ScreenSaverIsSecure"="1"
; Disabled
"ScreenSaverIsSecure"="0"

CMD

:: Options (use only one)

:: Enabled
reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop" /v "ScreenSaverIsSecure" /t REG_SZ /d 1 /f
:: Disabled
reg add "HKCU\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop" /v "ScreenSaverIsSecure" /t REG_SZ /d 0 /f

PowerShell

# Common: create the key
New-Item -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop' -Force | Out-Null

# Options (use only one)
# Enabled
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop' -Name 'ScreenSaverIsSecure' -PropertyType String -Value '1' -Force | Out-Null
# Disabled
New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Control Panel\Desktop' -Name 'ScreenSaverIsSecure' -PropertyType String -Value '0' -Force | Out-Null