Microsoft has been adding more customisation options to the Windows 11 Start menu, and the latest one is aimed at a rather specific group of users. The company now lets users hide their name and profile picture from the Start menu. Now this might seem to be like a small change, and most Windows 11 users may never need it. But if you regularly share your screen, record tutorials or make videos, it could save you from having to blur your personal details later. Read on.
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By default, Windows 11 displays your account name and profile picture at the bottom of the Start menu. Clicking it also brings up account-related options. But with the new setting enabled, that personal information can be removed from the Start menu. Instead, Windows 11 shows a generic Microsoft Account profile picture without your name next to it.
Your actual account details are not removed from the PC, though. Clicking the generic profile picture will still open the account panel, where your name and profile picture can be seen.
Microsoft has been rolling out several Start menu customisation options recently. This includes changes aimed at giving users more control over sections such as recommended and recently used content.
If the option has reached your Windows 11 PC, you can enable it through Settings. Open Settings, head to Personalisation > Start, and look for Hide your name and profile picture on Start. Turn the toggle on and open the Start menu again.
The feature was included with the KB5120998 update, which Microsoft began rolling out to users last month. However, the company is using a gradual rollout, so the option may not appear on every Windows 11 PC immediately.
This means there is nothing necessarily wrong with your system if you cannot find the setting yet. Microsoft may simply not have enabled the feature for your device.
The new Start menu feature arrives at a time when Microsoft is also dealing with another Windows 11 issue. The company’s September 2026 update, KB5124008, has been linked to audio problems on some PCs.
According to Microsoft, certain USB Audio Class 1.0 devices may fail to initialise after the update. Affected users could also find that the Sound settings page becomes unresponsive, while Device Manager may show a Code 10 error.
Microsoft has not yet released a permanent fix for the problem. For now, affected users may need to try different audio hardware or change their audio configuration.
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