Smart App control gone!


BrianInEngland

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Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)
The Smart App control function in Security settings has disappeared completely, the option doesn't exist in App and Browser control security settings.
Two PCs in the house running WIndows 11 Release Preview have the issue.

What I discovered: Last week, a new version of the Security app was installed in Windows/System32/SecurityHealth/1.0.2209-22001-0. Both PCs have this folder but my Beta Virtual machine doesn't, and the Smart App control is there.

Restarted PC in Recovery, used command prompt to delete the folder. Rebooted, and the Smart App control was back. A few minutes later, the folder re-appeared and Smart app control is gone again.

Very strange! Also for some reason my About box is showing what's in the pic, the Beta version doesn't show the top two lines under System information.
 
Windows Build/Version
Windows 11 Release Preview 22621.607

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Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30MSI Suprim 5080 SOC
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Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)
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MSI
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AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
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MEG X870E Godlike
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If you turn on Smart App Control in 22H2, you can only turn it off permanently if it gets in your way. The bad news? You have to do a clean install of Windows to enable it again.

An anti executable shouldn't be an all or nothing proposition. Microsoft should have given users granular control over the feature by default.
 

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  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Education For 25H2Intel® Core i7 5500u8 GBIntel HD Family Graphics 5500 AMD Firepro 4150M
    OS
    Windows 11 Education For 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ZBook G2
    CPU
    Intel® Core i7 5500u
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    HP
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    8 GB
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    1 TB SSD
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    Windows Defender
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    Windows 11 Pro For Workstations 25H2Xeon 1535m v632 GBAMD Quadro Pro 4100
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro For Workstations 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Zbook G4
    CPU
    Xeon 1535m v6
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Quadro Pro 4100
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    Bang and Olufson Audio
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If you turn on Smart App Control in 22H2, you can only turn it off permanently if it gets in your way. The bad news? You have to do a clean install of Windows to enable it again.

An anti executable shouldn't be an all or nothing proposition. Microsoft should have given users granular control over the feature by default.
Agree. Even if the user gets a warning before turning it back in it would be better than not allowing it
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30MSI Suprim 5080 SOC
OS
Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (RP channel)
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
Motherboard
MEG X870E Godlike
Memory
64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
Graphics Card(s)
MSI Suprim 5080 SOC
Sound Card
Soundblaster AE-9
Monitor(s) Displays
ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
Screen Resolution
3840x2160
Hard Drives
Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
Samsung 870 Evo 2TB
Samsung T9 4TB
PSU
Seasonic PX-2200
Case
Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
Cooling
Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
Keyboard
Logitech G915 X (wired)
Mouse
Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
Internet Speed
900Mb/sec
Browser
Microsoft Edge
Antivirus
Windows Defender
In addition: :alien:

 

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    Windows 11 Pro for WorkstationsIntel i7-8700K 5 GHz64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600...ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GD...
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self build
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING (11GB GDDR5X)
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G75 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
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    TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
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    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
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    Thermaltake Core P3 wall mounted
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    Amazon Basics Wired Full Keyboard MD005
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    Logitech MX Master 4
    Internet Speed
    2 Gbps Download and 100 Mbps Upload
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    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProSnapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Laptop 7 Copilot+ PC
    CPU
    Snapdragon X Elite (12 core) 3.42 GHz
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    16 GB LPDDR5x-7467 MHz
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    15" HDR
    Screen Resolution
    2496 x 1664
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Internet Speed
    Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
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    Chrome and Edge
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    Microsoft Defender
I turned it on and when Windows restarted, it couldn't boot. Its broken and not ready for prime time.

Does the Microsoft engineering staff ever do quality assurance testing before including a new feature in Windows?

The SAC seems to lock out the boot sequence so you can't boot to the login screen!
 

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  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Education For 25H2Intel® Core i7 5500u8 GBIntel HD Family Graphics 5500 AMD Firepro 4150M
    OS
    Windows 11 Education For 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ZBook G2
    CPU
    Intel® Core i7 5500u
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Family Graphics 5500 AMD Firepro 4150M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Audio
    Hard Drives
    1 TB SSD
    Mouse
    HP USB Mouse
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro For Workstations 25H2Xeon 1535m v632 GBAMD Quadro Pro 4100
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro For Workstations 25H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Zbook G4
    CPU
    Xeon 1535m v6
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Quadro Pro 4100
    Sound Card
    Bang and Olufson Audio
    Hard Drives
    1TB SSD
    Mouse
    HP USB Mouse
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
The Smart App control function in Security settings has disappeared completely, the option doesn't exist in App and Browser control security settings.
Two PCs in the house running WIndows 11 Release Preview have the issue.

What I discovered: Last week, a new version of the Security app was installed in Windows/System32/SecurityHealth/1.0.2209-22001-0. Both PCs have this folder but my Beta Virtual machine doesn't, and the Smart App control is there.

Restarted PC in Recovery, used command prompt to delete the folder. Rebooted, and the Smart App control was back. A few minutes later, the folder re-appeared and Smart app control is gone again.

Very strange! Also for some reason my About box is showing what's in the pic, the Beta version doesn't show the top two lines under System information.
Mine was OFF after the latest IWN11 update. I did a clean install and it was in Evaluation for about a week, now it's back to OFF and I didn't select it, guess my laptop isn't compatible.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win11 22623.89111th Gen Intel R Core TM i7 - 1165G7 @ 2.80GHz16gbIntel R Iris R Xe Graphics
OS
Win11 22623.891
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
HP
CPU
11th Gen Intel R Core TM i7 - 1165G7 @ 2.80GHz
Memory
16gb
Graphics Card(s)
Intel R Iris R Xe Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek R Audio, Intel Smart Sound
Hard Drives
C
Browser
Google
Antivirus
Windows Security/Microsoft Defender
Other Info
Downloaded MSEdgeRedirect
it was in Evaluation for about a week, now it's back to OFF and I didn't select it, guess my laptop isn't compatible.
It's not the laptop, it's the software you use and/or the way you use it. Evaluation mode determined it would get in the way of what you are doing, so it turned itself off.

What makes somebody a good candidate for Smart App Control?

Essentially, we're looking to see if Smart App Control is going to get in your way too often. There are some legitimate tasks that corporate users, developers, or others may do regularly that may not be a great experience with Smart App Control running. If we detect during evaluation mode that you're one of those users, we'll automatically turn Smart App Control off so you can work with fewer interruptions.
 

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  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
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    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
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    150 Mbps
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    Edge, Firefox
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    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October 2021 it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.
  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
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    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround.

    In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround.
    Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
If Optional diagnostic data (Privacy & security --> Diagnostics & feedback) is turned off, windows automatically shuts down SAC. It would be nice (and reasonable) if Windows provided a bit of warning, but so be it. SAC, RIP.
 

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  • At a glance

    Windows 11 23H2, 24H2i7-12700K16GB (2 x 8)Intel(R) UHD Graphics 770 with shared graphic...
    OS
    Windows 11 23H2, 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS8950, Vostro5620
    CPU
    i7-12700K
    Motherboard
    Z690 : 9D2HH Foxconn, R6PCT Foxconn 2nd (XPS)
    Memory
    16GB (2 x 8)
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    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 770 with shared graphics memory
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    Integrated
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    Acer CBL282K Smiiprx
    Screen Resolution
    4K UHD (3840 x 2160) @ 60 Hz
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    Western Digital PC SN810 512 GB M.2 NVMe SSD, PCIe
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    750W
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    2G44F Asetek 125W CPU liquid cooler
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    Arteck Wireless
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    Victsing-mm057 wireless
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    Wi-Fi 6
    Browser
    Vivaldi
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender (native)
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    Win 23H212th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P2 x 8 GBIntel Iris Xe Graphics
    Operating System
    Win 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Vostro 5620
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P
    Memory
    2 x 8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200 @ 60 Hz
    Hard Drives
    NVMe 512 GB
    Case
    Aluminum
    Mouse
    Touchpad
    Browser
    Vivaldi
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender (native)
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