Microsoft is investigating reports of the HP Smart app being automatically installed on Windows 11 and Windows 10 through the Microsoft Store, causing confusion among users. If your Windows installation is affected, you’ll see a new app called “HP Smart” in the Start menu.

Microsoft has confirmed that it is aware of the automatic installation reports for HP Smart.

Based on our tests and reports we have seen, HP Smart is being automatically installed on all versions of Windows that utilize the Microsoft Store, including Windows 11 23H2 or 22H2. HP Smart is an application used to manage HP printers and is typically pre-installed on HP PCs. However, it should not be installed on Windows systems that are not using HP devices.

Despite this, the Microsoft Store is automatically installing the “HP Smart” app on Windows installations.

HP Smart has been detected to be automatically installed on some PCs. Despite this, it can be safely removed if found on your system.

The app was discovered installed on systems that were not linked to an HP product and were using different Microsoft accounts.

Our observations indicate that the app is being installed through the Microsoft Store and cannot be found in the Control Panel’s Programs and Features page.

The situation is still developing, and it is not yet clear what is causing the automatic installation of HP Smart on non-HP systems.

In response to reports, Microsoft has stated that it is aware of the situation and will provide more details soon.

It’s important to note that HP Smart is an official and harmless app. Until the issue is resolved, you can manually uninstall the HP Smart app from Windows 10 or Windows 11 by right-clicking on the app in the Start menu and selecting “Uninstall.”