Windows 11 S Mode

Windows 11 Store will install just about any app these days, and just about anyone can throw random EXE or MSI installers on to it. It's undead these days. It is no longer quite a curated experience: towards the end of Windows 10 Store you at least knew if you installed from the Store it would uninstall cleanly without hassle (towards the beginning of the Store there were more guarantees than just that, but MSIX eventually compromised on all of them until clean uninstall was the last remaining guarantee). But in Windows 11 there's just about nothing that you can't install from the Store rather than needing to google on the bings for a random OEM website and find the EXE or MSI file to install. (The Store basically does that googling on the bings for you and saves you a step or two.)

That leaves me with the question of what S Mode is for in Windows 11 if the Store now includes all the random EXEs and MSIs, and all of their legacy of dirty installs/potential for adware/malware and other issues? The FAQ doesn't appear to answer that. In Windows 10 for a time I could tell a grandparent or non-computer savvy person to switch to S Mode and not have to worry as much about coming by with a malware/adware scanner at regular intervals. I don't have any confidence I can do that with Windows 11.

It looks like they've downscaled this from being a broad feature to only available for Home edition. Comparing the Windows 10 and 11 versions of this page, Windows 10 S Mode was available for Home, Pro, Enterprise and Education, but the latter three are no longer available.

It seemed to have been touted as an education-oriented feature when it was first released, but presumably that didn't resonate with the market.

"Windows 10 in S mode is built to give schools the familiar, robust, and productive experiences you count on from Windows in an experience that's been streamlined for security and performance in the classroom." (From https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/education/windows/test-wind...)