How to Disable Print Screen Screenshot on Windows 11

To stop Print Screen (PrtScn) from opening Snipping Tool in Windows 11, open Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard and turn off Use the Print Screen button to open screen snipping. After you disable it, pressing PrtScn captures the entire screen and copies the image to the clipboard.

Microsoft documents PrtScn as the shortcut that takes a full-screen capture and copies it to the clipboard. The Accessibility setting changes what that key does. Microsoft’s keyboard-shortcut documentation describes the standard behavior.

1. Disable Print Screen in Settings

1. Press Windows + I to open Settings.
2. Select Accessibility in the left sidebar.
3. Choose Keyboard.
4. Find Use the Print Screen button to open screen snipping.
5. Switch the setting to Off.
6. Press PrtScn once to verify that the full screen is copied instead of opening Snipping Tool.

To save the capture, open Paint or another image editor and press Ctrl + V. You can then crop, annotate and save it as PNG, JPEG or another supported format.

2. What changes when the setting is off?

Action	Result
PrtScn	Copies a full-screen image to the clipboard.
Windows + Shift + S	Still opens the screen-snipping selection bar.
Snipping Tool app	Remains installed and can be opened from Start.
Alt + PrtScn	Continues to capture the active window on supported Windows configurations.

This switch controls the Print Screen key mapping. It does not uninstall Snipping Tool or disable every screenshot method.

3. Registry fallback when the switch is missing

If the Settings option is not shown or changing it has no effect, set the per-user registry value documented in Microsoft Q&A guidance.

1. Press Windows + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard.
3. In the right pane, create or edit a 32-bit DWORD (32-bit) Value named PrintScreenKeyForSnippingEnabled.
4. Set its value data to 0. Use hexadecimal or decimal; zero is the same in either base.
5. Sign out and sign back in, or restart Windows.

The setting is under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, so it applies to the account whose registry hive you edited. Changing another user’s hive will not change your own shortcut.

Optional command-line registry edit

Run this command in Command Prompt as the affected user:

reg add "HKCU\Control Panel\Keyboard" /v PrintScreenKeyForSnippingEnabled /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

Sign out and sign back in after running it. To inspect the current value:

reg query "HKCU\Control Panel\Keyboard" /v PrintScreenKeyForSnippingEnabled

4. Settings method vs. registry method

Criterion	Settings	Registry
Discoverability	Easy for most users	Advanced
Administrator access	Usually not required	Usually not required for HKCU
Scope	Current user	Current user
Restart needed	Normally no	Sign out/in or restart recommended
Best use	Normal configuration	Missing or ineffective toggle

5. Troubleshooting

The toggle is not visible

Apply the registry fallback under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Keyboard, then sign out and back in. Windows editions, updates and organizational policies can affect which Settings controls appear.

PrtScn still opens Snipping Tool

• Confirm the registry value is named exactly PrintScreenKeyForSnippingEnabled.
• Confirm its data is 0, not 1.
• Check that you edited HKEY_CURRENT_USER for the account you are using.
• Sign out or restart after the edit.
• Check third-party screenshot utilities for a custom PrtScn hotkey.

PrtScn does nothing visible

With the mapping disabled, Windows copies the image to the clipboard but does not necessarily open an editor or show a notification. Open Paint and press Ctrl + V to confirm the capture.

A screenshot application still captures the key

Some utilities register their own global hotkey. Open that application’s keyboard-shortcut settings and remove or change its Print Screen assignment. Disabling Windows’ mapping does not override another program that claims the key.

I want to block Snipping Tool entirely

Disabling the Print Screen mapping is separate from policies that restrict the Snipping Tool application. Use your organization’s Windows application-management policy for that requirement.

6. Reliability, performance and privacy notes

• The Settings change takes effect quickly; the registry method needs a sign-out, sign-in or restart to ensure the shell reloads the mapping.
• Full-screen captures are placed in memory on the clipboard. Large or high-resolution displays use more clipboard memory, especially with multiple monitors.
• Clipboard contents can be replaced by another copy operation. Paste or save important captures promptly.
• Because this is a local keyboard mapping, it does not upload screenshots or require an internet connection.
• On managed PCs, an administrator policy or third-party utility may reapply a different shortcut.

7. Or skip the browser setup

If your goal is to capture websites programmatically instead of changing a Windows shortcut, ScreenshotNeo returns a screenshot or PDF from one GET request. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for all options.

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);

ScreenshotNeo removes cookie banners, newsletter popups and chat widgets before capture. Bot checks, blank pages and failed loads are not billed, and an MCP server lets AI agents take screenshots. The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Create a free ScreenshotNeo account.

8. FAQ

Does turning off the setting remove Snipping Tool?

No. It only changes what the PrtScn key opens.

Can I still use Windows + Shift + S?

Yes. That shortcut remains available independently.

Will the registry fix affect every user?

No. The value is under HKEY_CURRENT_USER and applies to the account whose hive was changed.

Why is there no window after pressing PrtScn?

The image is copied to the clipboard. Paste it into Paint, an editor or a document.

Can another app take over PrtScn?

Yes. Screenshot utilities can register their own global shortcut; change that app’s hotkey settings if necessary.