You can make an adjustment in Windows 11 or 10 to prevent the desktop background can be changed.
Setting a fixed background that cannot be adjusted helps, for example, in a work environment, school environment or in an environment where the background in Windows may promote a brand.
Some people still think that changing desktop wallpapers can be distracting or overwhelming. If you are easily distracted or prefer a more minimalist desktop environment, avoiding changing a wallpaper can be helpful.
Another reason is, for example, if you share the PC with other people and the same account. This prevents anyone on your computer from adjusting the background.
Block wallpaper changing in Windows 11 or 10
To prevent the background from being modified, you must set a policy.
A Windows policy is a set of rules or settings that determine the behavior of a Windows operating system. Policies are used to enforce security standards, control access, and manage system configurations such as wallpaper.
The easiest way is to create this policy via the Windows registry. This way, any Windows version can enforce this policy.
Open the Windows registry. Go to key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Right-click on the “Policies” folder. Then click on “New” and then on “Key”. Name this new key “ActiveDesktop”.
Now right-click on “ActiveDesktop” and click on “New” and then on “DWORD (32-bit) Value”. Name this value “NoChangingWallpaper” and set the value data to “1”.
Go to key again:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
Right-click on the “Policies” folder. Then click on “New” and then on “Key”. Name this new key “ActiveDesktop”.
Now right-click on “ActiveDesktop” and click on “New” and then on “DWORD (32-bit) Value”. Name this value “NoChangingWallpaper” and set the value data to “1”.
Now restart the computer. You will now see that the desktop background can no longer be changed by this policy.
Also read: Some of these settings are managed by your organization.
If you want to allow this again, delete both “NoChangingWallpaper” DWORD values in the registry.
I hope this helped you. Thank you for reading!