Using BitLocker in Windows allows you to encrypt or “scramble” data on personal computers to protect it from various threats, such as data theft, exposure if the device is lost, stolen, or improperly removed. This security feature debuted in Windows 7 and has since been available in professional and enterprise versions of the following systems, up to Windows 11. Microsoft has not supported it in home versions until now.

And we say only now because a German news website Deskmodder has verified that the Windows 11 2024 update, the next major version of Microsoft’s operating system that is currently in beta, You can enable BitLocker by default during installation. And that can apparently happen in several editions of Windows 11, including Home for consumers.

BitLocker in Windows, more security but less performance

The Windows 11 2024 update has a redesigned installation process that doesn’t start with the typical blue windows and includes a section for using BitLocker. From what we’re told, the units aren’t difficult to reinstall. can be encrypted with Bitlocker automatically and in the background.

It must be said that BitLocker encryption is well known in the Windows PC environment. Several OEMs enable this by default in commercial versions and are a very interesting feature for mobile professionals, for example. The problem is its automatic activation without the user saving the encryption key, as they say on Deskmodder. This is a scenario where the user will not have access to the protected (encrypted) drives.

Its operation in Home versions is not necessary. The typical consumer usually does not enable these full disk encryption features, which encrypt not only the disk on which the operating system is installed, but all other attached disks. The consumer does not need this degree of protection, which increases security, but has a great commitment to performance. Tested under a fast SSD on PCI 4.0, performance can drop up to 45%.

We hope that Microsoft will clarify the issue and revise the automatic installation section before launching the stable version of Windows 11 2024 Update, which will arrive in the fall. Until now, using BitLocker was optional and only available for professional and business versions. This is how it should continue.