When you set a photo as a screensaver, similar to the process to change icons on the desktop for files and folders , Windows 10 makes a history with the last five images that were used. For different reasons there may be a need to remove a lock screen background image in Windows 10 . So it is necessary to know how to do it in case it is necessary.
One of the most outstanding features of the Microsoft operating system is that the interface can be customized almost entirely. The screen lock is one of the aspects that users usually change and modify to their liking.
Registering these five images can be useful if you want to recover any of them to use again, but it can be a problem if you do not want anyone to have access to them.
Remove a lock screen wallpaper image in Windows 10.Sure, I can provide a step-by-step guide in a tabular format to remove the lock screen background image in Windows 10. Here’s how you can do it:
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| 1 | Open Settings: Right-click on the desktop and select ‘Personalize’, or press Windows Key + I to open the Settings app. |
| 2 | Access Lock Screen Settings: In the Settings app, click on ‘Personalization’, and then select ‘Lock screen’ from the sidebar. |
| 3 | Change Background: Under ‘Background’, you will find a drop-down menu. Click on it. |
| 4 | Select New Background Type: In the drop-down menu, choose ‘Picture’ or ‘Slideshow’ if it’s set to ‘Windows spotlight’. If you want no image, select ‘Solid color’. |
| 5 | Choose Your Picture or Color: If you selected ‘Picture’ or ‘Slideshow’, click on ‘Browse’ to choose your image or images. If you selected ‘Solid color’, choose your preferred color. |
| 6 | Save Changes: The changes you make will be applied immediately. You can lock your computer (Windows Key + L) to see the new lock screen. |
| 7 | Optional – Disable Fun Facts, Tips, and More: If you want to remove the fun facts, tips, and other information on the lock screen, turn off the switch that says ‘Get fun facts, tips, and more from Windows and Cortana on your lock screen’. |
Please note that if your computer is part of a corporate network or managed by an organization, some settings might be controlled by your IT department and you may not be able to change the lock screen background.
If you want to change your wallpaper and you don’t like the five images that Windows saves for you very much, you can delete some (or all) from there to be able to configure new photos that are to your liking.
The lock screen history images are archived in a hidden folder in the operating system. To remove a lock screen background image in Windows 10 you can change it five times and these will be modified automatically.
However, the old photographs are stored in the hidden folder , that is, they are still inside the PC files. Anyone who knows how to get there can access them. But there is good news, by following a few steps it is possible to eliminate them permanently.
Steps to delete an image from the lock screen history
It works like deleting browsing history for a particular website or just clearing remote desktop connection history in Windows , that is, it is always the same premise.
The first thing to do to remove a lock screen background image in Windows 10 is to locate the folder where they are hosted.
The address of this folder within the system files is: C: \ ProgramData \ Microsoft \ Windows \ SystemData \ User_Account_Security_Identifier \ ReadOnly.
This location will not be shown if the option “See hidden files” is not activated from the “ View ” drop-down menu of the file explorer. Likewise, it is necessary to have an administrator account that grants you the necessary permissions to access the ” SystemData ” folder .
Within this file there are different folders named with the security identifier of each user. To know the SID of your user you must open a symbol window and execute the command “whoami / user”.
By performing this action you will see the security identifier of your user. This will be the name of the folder that you must enter from SystemData. Once you are in the folder with the name of your SID you must locate the ReadOnly folder and open it.
Inside ReadOnly you will see a group of folders. All in the beginning are called ” LockScreen_ ” followed by a different letter in each file. There is an image that was used as a lock screen background hosted in each of these files. If you want to see one of these images you just have to open the folder where it is located.
To remove a lock screen background image in Windows 10 you have to delete the folder that houses the image you want to delete.
If you want to delete all the history you have to delete all the folders that start with “LockScreen_” . To confirm that these images are gone, you just have to go to the screen configuration window and check that they have been deleted.
And voila, you can permanently erase the images that you have set as the screen lock background on your Windows 10 computer. It may seem like a complicated way to do it, but it is not that complicated following the steps above.
