Install or uninstall Microsoft Defender on my devices
Help protect your Windows device (tablet or computer) or phone (Android and iOS device) by installing Microsoft Defender. You can also uninstall Defender from one of your devices using these steps.
Note: Defender is currently not available for Mac.
Select the appropriate tab based on the device you want to protect.
Defender is only available on the Windows 10 or 11 Pro, Business or Enterprise editions. It is not supported on the Home editions of these operating systems.
- Go to your Microsoft Apps page in the Email & Office Dashboard. (If you aren’t taken directly to the Microsoft Apps page, on the leftmost side, under Apps & Addons, select Microsoft Apps.)
- At the top of the page, select My Apps.
- Next to Defender, select Install Setup App. A download of Defender will start in your browser.
- If you see the error, “Microsoft Edge can’t read and write to its directory,” you might not be the admin of your computer. Only a computer admin can download and install Defender.
- Select Get Started.
- Enter your Microsoft 365 email address, and then select Next (your GoDaddy username and password won’t work here).
- Enter your password, and then Sign In. If you have multi-factor authentication (MFA) enabled, verify your identity using your authentication method.
- After signing in to your email account, you’ll see a message telling you that we’re setting up your Defender account, which could take up to 24 hours. You won’t be able to add your device until setup is complete. You can close the Defender app while you wait.
- To check if your account is set up, open the Defender app. When your Defender account is set up, you’ll see your device name.
- Select Protect My Device. You might need to sign in to your Microsoft 365 account again. Once your device is protected, you’ll see a success message.
- (Optional) To remove Defender from your device, select Remove My Device.
To manage Defender and your protected devices, select Manage Defender.
Related step
- Find out how to address and remediate security alerts that you receive from Defender.
More info
- Find out more about Defender and how it can protect your organization.
- Learn about the other Office apps available with your Microsoft 365 account.
- Install the Defender app from the Apple App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android).
- Open Defender.
- Sign in using your Microsoft 365 email address and password (your GoDaddy username and password won’t work here).
- Follow the prompts to set up Defender on your device. It’ll ask you to run in the background and have access to Accessibility Services (Android) or set up a local virtual private network (VPN) and allow notifications (iPhone).
- (Optional) To remove Defender from your device, either delete the Defender app or remove the “Microsoft Defender” VPN profile in your device settings.
Related step
- Find out how to address and remediate security alerts that you receive from Defender.
More info
- To find out why Defender needs certain permissions on your device, check out this article from Microsoft.
- Find out more about Defender and how it can protect your organization.
- Learn about the Office apps available with your Microsoft 365 account.