One user asked for this across his whole company - every office PC, every laptop, even at home. The Snipping Tool has no normal off switch in Settings, but one small Windows policy value disables it in about a minute. Here is the script route from the video, the same switch done by hand, and the honest truth about what this block really covers.
The Snipping Tool is genuinely useful - IT support runs on screenshots. But on exam PCs, client-data desks and shared machines, an office may have a real reason to switch it off. In the video, a small console script does the job: right-click, Run as administrator, press 1 - the Snipping Tool is gone. Press 2 and it comes straight back. Under that script sits a standard built-in Windows policy, which means you can also apply it by hand in the registry or push it to every PC with Group Policy. One thing before the steps, because it decides how you should talk about this fix: disabling the app does not make a screen impossible to copy - read the honesty box at the end before promising anyone that.
The one click tool in the video is a simple two-option menu. Nothing is uninstalled - a policy is switched on or off, which is why the undo is instant.
This is not a hack and nothing gets deleted. Windows has a built-in policy named Do not allow Snipping Tool to run. When that policy is on, the Snipping Tool simply refuses to start. The video's script, a manual registry edit and Group Policy are three doors to the same switch - they all set one value, DisableSnippingTool, to 1 in the policy area of the registry. That also means the change is clean, supported by Windows itself, and reversible in seconds.
This is the route shown on screen, and it is the fastest for one PC or a few PCs:
Administrator rights are not a formality here: the policy value lives in the machine-wide part of the registry, which Windows protects from normal accounts.
Prefer to see the change yourself? Open Registry Editor as administrator and go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\TabletPC. If the TabletPC key is not there, create it. Inside it, create a DWORD (32-bit) Value named DisableSnippingTool and set its data to 1. Sign out and back in, and the tool is blocked. This site carries a full page on this manual route with every click spelled out - it is the better read if you have never edited the registry.
For a whole office, do not walk desk to desk. In the Group Policy Editor, open User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Tablet PC > Accessories, open Do not allow Snipping Tool to run and set it to Enabled. On a domain, put that setting in a GPO linked to the right OU and every PC picks it up on its own; gpupdate /force applies it immediately while testing. One honest limit: Windows Home has no Group Policy Editor, so Home laptops still need the script or the registry route.
Every route reverses just as fast. In the script, press 2. In the registry, set DisableSnippingTool to 0 or delete the value. In Group Policy, return the setting to Not Configured. If a work PC keeps blocking the tool again after you undo it, a domain policy is re-applying the block at every refresh - that is the policy working as designed, and the fix is a word with your IT admin, not a stronger tweak.
The full one minute demo - download, run as administrator, press 1, and the tool is gone.
▶️ Watch Full VideoNo. The policy only stops it from running. The app stays installed, and removing the policy value - or pressing 2 in the script - brings it back exactly as before.
No. It blocks one app. The Print Screen key, Xbox Game Bar, other capture tools and a phone camera can still copy what is on the screen. It is a hygiene control, not a complete screenshot block.
Yes, with the script or the registry method. Windows Home does not include the Group Policy Editor, so the gpedit route is only for Pro, Enterprise and Education editions.