You open your installed apps and there it is: HP Smart. You don't own an HP printer. You never installed it. You may not even own a printer at all. No, you're not imagining things, and no, you weren't hacked — Windows put it there.
This one earned a permanent spot in the removal lists of my debloating tool, because it's the rare bloatware that installs itself on machines from every manufacturer. Here's why it appears, how to remove it, and — the part most people miss — the switch that stops it coming back.
Where it comes from
Windows has a convenience feature: when it detects a printer, it fetches that brand's companion app from the Microsoft Store automatically. Sensible in theory. Two ways it goes wrong in practice:
- The everyday case — any HP printer your PC has ever met counts. The office printer. The one at your parents' house you printed one boarding pass on. An HP printer on a network you joined once. Windows remembers, and installs.
- The famous case — in late 2023, a printer-metadata bug went further: Microsoft confirmed that Windows 10 and 11 machines with no HP hardware whatsoever were getting HP Smart installed, and other brands' printers were being renamed to "HP LaserJet M101-M106". Not HP's doing, Microsoft's — bad metadata on the Store side. The fix wasn't even automatic: Microsoft shipped a dedicated troubleshooter tool (KB5034510) you had to run yourself.
To be clear about the app itself: HP Smart is legitimate software, and if you own an HP printer and like the app, keep it. The problem was never what it is — it's that it arrives uninvited.
Removing it (the easy part)
- Settings → Apps → Installed apps, search "HP Smart", uninstall. It's a Store app, so this is quick and clean — no leftover services to chase.
- Nothing to worry about afterwards: printing doesn't depend on it. Windows' own print system handles any printer you actually use, including HP ones, through the standard drivers.
Stopping the comeback (the part everyone misses)
Uninstalling doesn't end the story — the same auto-install that brought it can bring it again. Two switches make the removal stick:
- Hide it in the Store. Open Microsoft Store → click your profile picture → Library. Find HP Smart, click the three dots, choose Hide. A hidden app doesn't get re-offered to the auto-installer.
- Turn off device-triggered installs. Search Start for "Change device installation settings" (it still lives in the old Control Panel) and choose No — that stops Windows automatically downloading manufacturers' apps for devices it detects.
And if your printer's name is wrong — some other brand showing as an HP LaserJet — that's the 2023 metadata bug specifically, and Microsoft's troubleshooter from the link above is the intended repair: it uninstalls the wrongly delivered app and restores the correct printer names.
The bigger pattern
HP Smart is the clearest example of something worth knowing: bloatware isn't only what your laptop ships with — some of it arrives later, on its own. The apps list on a two-year-old PC contains things nobody in the house ever installed. That's why "clean it once at purchase" doesn't stay done, and why a periodic sweep is worth it. My bulk-uninstall guide covers doing that sweep by hand, brand by brand.
I'm building RBS Debloater — a free tool that scans for exactly this kind of arrival (HP Smart included, whether you have an HP or not), shows what each thing is in plain words, and removes what you tick. Restore point first, one-click undo where Windows allows it. Final testing now — free on this site soon.