How It Works
How protection works, why it cannot be bypassed, and what happens during a blocked uninstall attempt.
How games are protected
GamePinned uses Windows file system permissions to make game files undeletable for the accounts you choose to block. These are the same permission controls that Windows uses everywhere, built into the OS and not dependent on any third-party software staying installed or running.
Protection is applied directly to the game's folder on disk. When a blocked user tries to delete anything inside that folder (which is what uninstalling a game does), Windows denies the deletion. The launcher receives a permission error and the uninstall cannot complete.
GamePinned also monitors each game's records (the files each launcher uses to know a game is installed) and keeps backups of them. If a launcher attempts to remove those records as part of an uninstall, they are detected and restored automatically so the game reappears in the library.
Who gets blocked and who doesn't
The rules are applied per-user, not system-wide. There are two modes:
- Block all standard accounts (default): blocks all standard Windows accounts automatically. Any new account you create is covered too. Admin accounts that are also members of this group are blocked the same way. There is no automatic admin exemption.
- Block specific accounts: add usernames manually and only those accounts are blocked. The mode switches automatically once you add the first name. Any account (standard user or admin) can be added to this list and will be blocked.
The default mode (block all standard accounts) is recommended for most setups. It covers all current and future customer accounts without any manual configuration. Use specific accounts mode only if you need certain accounts to stay unblocked.
Windows system processes are never blocked. This is required for game updates and patches to work.
If you need an admin account to stay unblocked, use Block specific accounts mode and add only the customer-facing accounts you want to restrict. Accounts not on the list are never blocked.
Can users bypass it?
Can they stop the GamePinned service from Task Manager?
No. Standard user accounts don't have permission to stop the service. This is enforced at the Windows service level. It's not a UI trick. An admin password is required to stop the service.
If an admin stops the service, are games still protected?
Yes. Any game you have locked stays protected regardless of whether the service is running. Stopping, restarting, or killing the service has no effect on locked games. Users still cannot delete or uninstall them.
To temporarily allow uninstalls, start the service and enable Maintenance Mode. To unlock a specific game, start the service and remove it from the protected list in the control panel.
Can they uninstall GamePinned itself?
No. The software opens in read-only mode. Users can see the status but can't change anything without the admin password. Uninstalling also requires admin rights.
Can they delete the game files manually through File Explorer?
No. The same permission rules apply to File Explorer, command prompt, and any other tool. The restriction is at the Windows kernel level. It doesn't matter how they try to delete the files.
What if they log in with a different account?
Under the default setting, any new account is blocked the same way. No action needed. The block applies to all standard accounts, not a fixed list of names.
Only accounts that are not members of the blocked group are exempt. See the Who gets blocked section above for details on how group membership affects this.
What if they try to uninstall through Steam or Epic Games?
The underlying file deletion is blocked at the Windows level. Steam and Epic Games cannot remove the game files. For Steam, the launcher is automatically restarted and the game reappears in the library within seconds. For Epic Games, the uninstall cannot complete and the launcher will report a failure.
What about Riot Games? It has no uninstall button.
Correct. The only uninstall path is through Windows Add or Remove Programs, and that silently fails for everyone regardless of account type. If someone tries to delete the game folder directly, standard accounts are denied. Admin accounts can delete the folder by entering their Windows password when prompted. See the Riot Games platform page for full details.
What if the PC restarts or loses power?
Protection is persistent. The permission rules live on disk. They survive reboots, power cuts, and crashes. Rules are also verified and restored in the background, so even if something temporarily removed a rule, it gets re-applied automatically.
Games can still be updated
Updates work normally. Active game updates are monitored, and restrictions are temporarily relaxed during the update process if needed, then re-applied automatically once the game is stable again.
That said, Steam, Epic Games, and Riot Games occasionally change how their update process works. GamePinned tracks these changes and is updated when needed, but there is no absolute guarantee that every future platform change will be handled automatically. If an update fails after a platform change, a GamePinned update will be released to fix it.
License and hardware binding
Each license is tied to the specific PC it was activated on. A license activated on one machine can't be copied or used on another.
This is enforced using a hardware fingerprint, which is a unique identifier generated from the PC's hardware components. The fingerprint is hashed before storage and never sent in a form that could identify your hardware externally.
If you need to move a license to a different PC (for example, after a hardware upgrade), contact support@gamepinned.com.