The app is not optional, and neither is the account. HP’s own listing leads with convenience and then, several hundred words later, states three conditions in its disclaimers: an HP account for full functionality, an internet connection, and a statement that some app features may one day be charged for.
None of that makes the app bad. It does mean the trade should be read before the printer is in the basket, not after it is in the study.
First, the nameHP Smart, myHP, and the app now called HP
HP Inc., from the disclaimers in its own app listing.
If you have been sent a guide that says “open HP Smart” and your phone icon says HP, that is why. The listing describes itself in one line: “The go-to app for your HP devices.” The tasks it names next are the ones people actually search for — “Set up your new printer, personalize your experience, print, scan, and contact support”.
The three conditionsWritten as facts, not as questions
Read together, they answer the complaints that sound strange at first: the printer that will not scan while the broadband is down, the household where one person’s phone prints and the other’s does not, the surprise that a feature moved behind a price. An account is also how a shared household device gets personalised, so the requirement is not malicious — but it is a requirement, and it is stated in the disclaimer block rather than the headline.
What you get backThe setup screen and the shop shelf
On the useful side, HP promises the awkward part is scripted: “Get up and running fast with a guided setup that does the heavy lifting for you.” Its own store picture shows what that guided path looks like, and it is worth noticing the first step.
Same listing. The sentence continues into a line about making your tech work the way you like it.
Then the two sentences that matter most for a household that prints weekly. “Get a notification when your printer is low on ink or paper and easily order more to keep printing uninterrupted.” And for the scanner: “Automatically correct images, name files, flatten pages, extract text, and scan multiple pages at the same time with the HP app”. There is also a small quality-of-life line nobody advertises: “Set up custom shortcuts for print tasks you use often.”
Support is inside the app too, with its own limits stated plainly: “When something goes wrong, help is right there” — and then, in the disclaimers, “Live chat and phone support are available during business hours and varies by country.”
HP+The option you choose once, at setup
HP Inc., disclaimer three of its own listing.
That is the sentence readers arrive on this page looking for. HP+ is not a store subscription you browse; it is a choice made while the printer is being configured, and the conditions attached to it are in the same disclaimer paragraph, which ties the plan to an HP account, a continuous connection, and to buying original HP ink for the life of the printer. We took that sentence apart separately in how to check ink levels before a big print job, because the ink condition is the one people notice second, when a third-party cartridge is rejected.
| The line HP leads with | The line that comes with it |
|---|---|
| “The go-to app for your HP devices.” | “HP account required for full functionality.” |
| “Get up and running fast with a guided setup” | “Internet access required.” |
| “easily order more to keep printing uninterrupted” | “HP reserves the right to introduce charges for use of select HP app functionality.” |
| “help is right there” | “Live chat and phone support are available during business hours and varies by country.” |
Four questions worth asking before you buy the printer, not after
- Can this printer be used at all when the line is down? HP’s listing requires internet access for the app experience; whether a specific model still prints over USB without it is a model question, and it is the one to ask at the shop counter.
- Will more than one person in the house need their own account? An account is how the app knows whose phone is asking.
- Am I accepting an ink supply rule for the life of the device? That is the HP+ sentence, and it is a setup-time decision.
- Do I actually want the shop shelf? The recommendations block is a feature for someone and clutter for everyone else.
One caveat nobody expectsThe free printables are free for your kitchen table
HP advertises a library of things to print: “Explore tons of cards, coloring pages, educational worksheets, and fun crafts projects.” The disclaimer attached to that promise is one sentence long and changes what a teacher can do with it: “Printables are for personal use only and may not be distributed for any commercial purpose.” A class set of worksheets is the exact case that sentence is about.
Everything quoted above is from the app listing HP supplies for its own store page, which is a description of the service, not a contract, and not a manual. HP’s support site was not fetched for this article, so no menu name, button order, or model compatibility list is claimed here. Whether your particular printer is covered, and what happens to a device already set up before a policy changed, are questions for HP support — the listing itself notes availability varies by printer and country.
- All quoted sentences — the app description and disclaimers HP Inc. supplies for its own store listing, retrieved from the store’s public catalogue interface and compared word for word with this page.
- Two store images — supplied by the developer; the captions transcribe the headings, step labels and button text visible on each.
- Our own reading — the pairing of marketing lines against disclaimer lines, and the four questions. Not vendor guidance.
The app’s page here is this one, on the tools and devices hub. Related: what “offline” actually means across three apps.
Written by the Dlzer editorial desk. Not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by HP Inc. HP, HP Smart and HP+ are HP’s marks, used to identify the product; quoted lines are HP’s own description of what it does.