Microsoft automatically installs HP Smart apps on Windows 10 and 11 PCs

Windows 10 and 11 come with multiple apps that you probably don’t need. One more app has reportedly joined the list of bloatware, the HP Smart app.

A report by Windows Latest says they noticed that a new app called HP Smart has been added to the Start menu on their Windows 10 laptops. It doesn't end there, however, as the authors discovered that the application had also been automatically installed on their virtual machine running on Windows 11.

What’s interesting about this situation is that the report states that the application automatically installs even when no HP product is connected to the PC. Some users reported on reddit that they had encountered similar problems. The HP Smart app is being installed through the Microsoft Store. This means the app won't be listed under the Programs and Features section in Control Panel.

Remember when it thinks the Google Docs app offline extension in Microsoft Edge is installed automatically? I mean, this isn't even a first party app, why go to all the trouble to promote them? Well, I guess we shouldn't be surprised by these shenanigans. Still, there's a big difference between automatically installing a browser extension and a desktop app.

Comments from users indicate they are concerned about whether the app is a virus. Who can blame them for thinking that when an application you've never used and probably never even heard of is randomly installed on your computer, it does seem to behave like malware. One user claimed they found a folder called HPPrintScanDoctor under Program Files, and a service called HPPrintScanDoctorService.exe, which uses a scheduled task to run when Windows starts.

It’s worth mentioning that HP Smart is an official app from the electronics giant. It’s available for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS and lets you print, scan, and share with HP printers. document. This should be of some comfort to users. So, if you see an application listed on the Start menu, don’t panic and reset your PC or perform a clean installation of Windows. It's just Microsoft being Microsoft.

Unfortunately, there is no explanation why the HP Smart app automatically installs on Windows 10 and Windows 11. But there is some good news, Microsoft has issued a statement to Windows Latest saying that it has acknowledged the issue and told them that it will share more details about it soon.

My guess is that this may be a "technical error" pushing the app to all PCs, not just those connected to HP accessories. Actually, I don't really like this either. It's never a good idea to get driver updates from Microsoft, they can cause all kinds of problems, and they have done so in the past.

It's easy to get a buggy driver, a few years ago I ran into an NVIDIA graphics card driver that caused a ton of performance issues and lag that I had to manually roll back to a previous version to resolve question. Also don’t use those junk driver updaters and snake oil system utility software, always get the latest drivers from your hardware vendor’s website.

As for how to get rid of the HP Smart app, you can simply right-click on it and select Uninstall, hoping that it won’t be reinstalled the next time you start your PC.

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