Show or Hide Taskbar and System Tray Icons in Windows 11 & 10 (Tablets Too)

To show or hide icons on the Windows 11 taskbar, open Settings > Personalization > Taskbar. Under Taskbar items switch Search, Task view and Widgets on or off; under System tray icons choose the pen menu, touch keyboard and virtual touchpad; and under Other system tray icons turn each app's icon on to keep it beside the clock, or off to tuck it into the hidden icons menu behind the ^ arrow. You can also simply drag icons between the taskbar corner and the hidden menu. Here is what confuses most people: "hiding" a tray icon does not close the app. The program keeps running in the background; it is only moved out of sight. To stop an app entirely, turn it off under Settings > Apps > Startup or quit it from its own menu.

Ethan's grandmother uses a 2-in-1 laptop, mostly folded into a tablet in the evenings. Her pinned apps kept disappearing from the taskbar whenever she folded it, and the corner by the clock was crowded with icons she did not recognize: a printer utility, a cloud app, two update helpers and a speaker brand logo. At Jake's shop he tidied it in five minutes: the four icons she actually uses beside the clock, everything else in the hidden menu, and the tablet taskbar set so her pinned apps stay put when the keyboard folds back. This page covers every icon on the Windows taskbar, how to show or hide each one, and why some refuse to move.

Every change on this page is cosmetic and reversible. Nothing is uninstalled, and you can bring any icon back the same way you hid it.

The parts of the taskbar, left to right

Most "icon" questions are about the last three rows: the small icons in the bottom-right corner, called the system tray or notification area. Windows 11 calls it the taskbar corner.

Knowing which part an icon belongs to tells you where its setting lives, which is most of the work in tidying a taskbar.

Show or hide Search, Task view and Widgets

1. Right-click an empty part of the taskbar and choose Taskbar settings, or open Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.
2. Under Taskbar items, set Search to Hide, Search icon only, Search icon and label, or Search box.
3. Switch Task view and Widgets on or off.

Hiding Search does not remove search: press the Windows key and type, which searches exactly the same way. Hiding Task view keeps virtual desktops available through Windows + Tab. Hiding Widgets keeps them one press of Windows + W away. Removing these three frees space for your own pinned apps, which is often the point.

The Copilot button, where present on your version, can also be hidden here or under a separate Copilot switch; turning it off removes only the button, and the Copilot app can still be opened from Start if you use it.

If Search, Task view or Widgets come back after a feature update, set them again; big updates occasionally reset taskbar items to their defaults.

Show or hide app icons in the system tray

1. Open Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.
2. Expand Other system tray icons (Windows 10: Select which icons appear on the taskbar).
3. Turn an app On to keep its icon next to the clock, or Off to move it into the hidden icons menu.

The list shows every app that has put an icon in the tray, including ones not running right now. Icons switched off appear when you click the small ^ arrow, called the hidden icons menu or overflow. On current Windows 11 versions, the same page has a switch for the Hidden icon menu itself; turning it off shows every icon beside the clock, which only makes sense if you have very few.

If an app does not appear in the list at all, it has never shown a tray icon on this account; start the app once, and it is added. Apps installed for all users may still need to be started once in each user account before their icons show up there.

What is this icon? Common tray icons

When an icon in the table is one you rely on, keep it visible; the rest can live behind the arrow without losing anything. The point of the tray is quick status at a glance, and three or four well-chosen icons do that better than a dozen.

Identify an unknown tray icon

Hover over an icon to see its name, or right-click it for its menu, which usually names the program. The Other system tray icons list in Settings shows each icon with the app's full name. If an icon still means nothing to you, open Task Manager, find the app with that name under Processes, right-click it and choose Open file location, or search the name to see which program installed it. An unknown icon you cannot identify is worth a Microsoft Defender scan.

Be cautious with icons that appeared at the same time as a free program you installed, or that show pop-up offers; those are often bundled extras worth uninstalling rather than hiding.

Keep a note of what each remaining icon is for; on a shared family PC, that note saves a lot of "what is this?" questions.

Drag icons in and out of the hidden menu

The quickest method needs no settings at all. Drag an icon from beside the clock onto the ^ arrow to hide it, or open the hidden menu and drag an icon from there onto the taskbar to show it. You can also drag icons left and right to reorder them. Ethan's grandmother's four favorites, volume, network, battery and the cloud app holding her photos, now sit in the order she likes.

If dragging does not work, the taskbar may be locked by a policy on a managed PC, or Explorer may need a restart; the Settings switches always work as an alternative.

Dragging works the same on touch screens: press and hold an icon until it lifts, then move it into or out of the hidden menu.

Reordering is remembered across restarts, so arrange the icons once in the order your eyes look for them, most important nearest the clock, and they stay that way. If an app is reinstalled, its icon may return to the hidden menu, and one drag puts it back.

Pen menu, touch keyboard and virtual touchpad icons

Under System tray icons in Taskbar settings, Windows 11 has three built-in icons with their own options. Pen menu opens shortcuts for pen apps, useful only on pen devices. Touch keyboard can be Never, Always, or When no keyboard attached. Virtual touchpad shows an on-screen touchpad for controlling a second screen by touch; our guide to the virtual touchpad explains it. On PCs without pens or touch screens, all three can stay off.

Turning these icons off removes only the shortcuts; the features themselves stay available from Settings whenever you need them.

On PCs where these icons keep reappearing after updates, check the pen and touch settings pages too; a driver update for a pen or touch screen can switch the related icon back on.

Tablets and 2-in-1s: pinned apps disappearing

The original version of this page was about Windows 10's tablet mode hiding pinned apps from the taskbar. On Windows 10, open Settings > System > Tablet (or Tablet mode) > Change additional tablet settings and turn off Hide app icons on the taskbar; your pins stay visible in tablet mode. Windows 11 replaced tablet mode with a touch-optimized taskbar that collapses when you fold a 2-in-1 and expands with a swipe up from the bottom. Turn it off under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors > Optimize taskbar for touch interactions when this device is used as a tablet if you prefer the normal taskbar with all icons visible. That is the switch that kept Ethan's grandmother's pins in place. Our guide to tablet mode and touch settings covers the related options.

Some 2-in-1s also have their own maker utility that changes taskbar behavior in tablet posture, such as hiding icons or switching to a gesture bar. If the Windows settings above make no difference, check the maker's app for a tablet or posture setting, and update it, since older versions sometimes conflict with Windows 11's own touch taskbar.

Hiding an icon vs closing the app

Hiding a tray icon only changes where the icon appears; the app keeps running, using memory and starting with Windows. To stop it running:

• Right-click its icon and look for Exit, Quit or Close.
• Stop it starting with Windows in Settings > Apps > Startup or Task Manager's Startup apps.
• Uninstall it if you never use it, in Settings > Apps > Installed apps.

Many tray icons on new PCs belong to maker utilities, update helpers and trial software. Hiding is fine for the useful ones; for the rest, stopping or uninstalling them makes the PC start faster too.

A quick way to see what each tray app is costing you: open Task Manager's Startup apps page and look at the Startup impact column. Apps marked High are the best candidates to turn off if you do not use them daily, and their tray icons disappear with them after the next restart.

Icons you cannot hide on Windows 11

Windows 11 groups network, volume and battery into one Quick Settings button that always appears. They cannot be hidden individually as on Windows 10, where Turn system icons on or off allowed it. The clock and notification bell also stay. If the clock area feels crowded, hide app icons rather than system ones, set Search to an icon, and use smaller taskbar buttons under Taskbar behaviors.

Clicking the Quick Settings button also gives quick access to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, brightness and more, which is why Windows keeps it visible; it replaces several separate icons from Windows 10.

The notification bell and date area also open the notification center and calendar with one click, which is why they stay; Do not disturb, set from the same area, silences notifications without hiding anything.

The volume icon

The speaker icon shows the current volume and output, with a cross when muted. Scrolling the mouse wheel over it changes the volume on current Windows 11 versions. Right-click it for Sound settings, the volume mixer and troubleshooting. If it shows a red cross and sound is not muted, no output device is working; open Sound settings and pick the correct speakers or headphones.

Many keyboards and headsets also have their own volume controls, which show an on-screen indicator near the top or bottom of the screen; those work regardless of whether the tray icon is visible, so the icon is mainly for choosing devices and opening the mixer.

For per-app volume, open the volume mixer from the icon's right-click menu; each app with sound gets its own slider.

The Safely Remove Hardware icon

The USB plug icon lets you eject drives before unplugging them. Modern Windows uses Quick removal for USB drives by default, so pulling a drive out after copying finishes is usually safe, but ejecting first guarantees nothing is still being written. If the icon is missing, check the hidden menu, or eject drives by right-clicking them in File Explorer and choosing Eject. External drives set to Better performance in Device Manager always need ejecting first.

If Windows says a drive is still in use when you try to eject it, close File Explorer windows and apps using files on it, then try again.

The icon only appears while a removable drive or device is connected, so its absence usually just means nothing needs ejecting.

The Bluetooth icon

To show or hide the Bluetooth tray icon, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Devices, scroll to More Bluetooth settings, and check or clear Show the Bluetooth icon in the notification area. The icon gives quick shortcuts to add a device, send or receive files and join a personal area network. On Windows 11, Quick Settings already has a Bluetooth button, so many people hide the separate icon.

If the checkbox is missing, Bluetooth may be off or the adapter's driver missing; check Device Manager under Bluetooth.

Hiding it changes nothing about connected headphones or mice; they stay paired and connect automatically.

On PCs without Bluetooth, the setting simply does not appear.

The Windows Security shield

The shield icon belongs to Windows Security's notification helper. Hiding it in the tray, or turning off Windows Security notification icon under Settings > Apps > Startup, removes the icon only; Microsoft Defender protection keeps running. The icon is handy because it shows a yellow or red mark when something needs attention, so many people keep it visible.

Third-party antivirus programs have their own tray icons and settings; hiding them works the same way, and protection carries on in the background.

Open Windows Security any time from Start if the icon is hidden; its Home page shows the same status at a glance.

If the shield shows a warning, click it before hiding it; it usually points to a scan, update or setting that needs a moment's attention.

Microphone, camera and location indicators

When an app uses the microphone, camera or location, Windows shows a small indicator in the tray. Hover over it to see which app is using it. These indicators cannot be hidden, by design, because they protect your privacy. If one appears when you do not expect it, check the app named, and manage permissions under Settings > Privacy & security > Microphone, Camera or Location.

Seeing the camera indicator during a video call is expected; seeing it with no camera app open is the moment to check which app is using it.

The network icon shows a problem

The network part of Quick Settings changes to show your connection: Wi-Fi bars, an Ethernet monitor, a globe with a no-entry sign when there is no internet, or an airplane when airplane mode is on. These are status signals rather than icons to hide. If the globe appears while Wi-Fi seems connected, the network has no internet access, often a router issue or a captive sign-in page; click the icon and open network settings to troubleshoot.

VPN connections may add their own indicator or change the network icon to show a lock; if the VPN app hides its own icon, the network flyout still shows whether it is connected.

Hovering over the network icon shows the network name and connection type, which is a quick way to confirm you are on the right Wi-Fi before signing in to anything important.

The battery icon and percentage

On laptops, the battery icon in Quick Settings shows charge and charging status, and hovering shows the percentage and remaining time. Windows 11 can show the battery percentage next to the icon on recent versions, under Settings > System > Power & battery. A battery icon with a warning sign suggests a worn battery; our guide to checking battery health explains how to create and read a battery report, which shows how much capacity the battery has lost compared with when it was new.

Battery saver and Energy saver add a small leaf or similar mark to the battery icon on recent versions, a quick reminder that background activity is being limited.

If the battery icon is missing on a laptop, the battery driver may need reinstalling: in Device Manager under Batteries, uninstall Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery and restart.

Windows 10: turn system icons on or off

On Windows 10, open Settings > Personalization > Taskbar and click Turn system icons on or off. You can switch Clock, Volume, Network, Power, Input Indicator, Location, Action Center, Touch keyboard, Windows Ink Workspace and Touchpad individually. Select which icons appear on the taskbar, just above, controls app icons, with Always show all icons in the notification area at the top. Windows 10 reached end of support in October 2025, but these settings still work on PCs that run it.

Settings changed on Windows 10 carry over partly after upgrading to Windows 11, but Windows 11's simpler layout means some system icons simply have no separate switch any more.

On Windows 10 the volume, network and power icons are separate, which is why many people miss being able to hide them individually after upgrading.

An icon you want is missing

1. Click the ^ arrow; it is probably hidden there. Drag it onto the taskbar.
2. Check the app is running. If it was closed or never started, its icon does not appear; open the app from Start.
3. Check the app's own settings for an option such as Show icon in notification area or Minimize to tray.
4. Restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager if icons are blank or missing after an update.
5. For the touchpad icon specifically, see our guide to a missing touchpad icon.

Some apps only show a tray icon while they are doing something, such as a backup tool during a backup; that is normal and not a fault.

For icons from security, VPN or backup software that you need to see, check the app's own notification or appearance settings as well; some hide their icon by default after installation and only show it when there is a problem to report.

Old icons stuck in the list

The Other system tray icons list remembers apps you uninstalled long ago. They are harmless, but the list gets long. Windows keeps this history in your profile; a restart of Explorer refreshes what is shown, and old entries for apps that no longer exist simply never appear on the taskbar again. Some older guides suggest deleting registry values to clear the list; it is cosmetic only, and not worth the risk for most people.

If a long list bothers you, a fresh user profile starts with a clean list, but that is a big step for a cosmetic issue; most people simply ignore old entries.

Why apps put icons in the tray at all

Tray icons exist for programs that run in the background: sync tools, security software, chat apps, audio and graphics utilities, and update helpers. The icon gives quick access to settings and shows status, such as sync progress or a VPN connection. Some apps add an icon simply to stay visible. Good apps let you turn the icon off in their own settings; if an app forces an icon you never use, that is often a sign it is running more than you need, and stopping it at startup is the better fix.

Some apps also offer a "close to tray" option, which keeps them running after you close their window; if an app seems impossible to quit, look for that option and turn it off.

Fewer icons, faster startup

Each tray icon usually means a program starting with Windows. Reviewing Settings > Apps > Startup alongside the tray list often shows apps you can switch off entirely, which shortens sign-in and frees memory. Keep security, touchpad, audio and cloud sync apps you use; turn off update helpers, launchers and utilities you only open occasionally. Ethan's grandmother's laptop dropped six startup apps during the tidy, and it now reaches the desktop noticeably faster.

If you are unsure what a startup entry does, leave it on, restart, and look it up later; turning off the wrong one, such as a touchpad utility, simply means turning it back on.

Check the Startup apps list again after installing new software; many installers add themselves there silently, along with a new tray icon.

When the whole taskbar misbehaves

If icons overlap, vanish or stop responding, restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager; the taskbar redraws in a second. If it keeps happening, check for a third-party taskbar tweak tool, which often breaks after Windows updates, and run Windows Update for fixes. Our guide to restarting Explorer covers the steps.

Restarting Explorer closes File Explorer windows but not your other apps, so it is safe to do in the middle of work. If the taskbar does not return, open Task Manager, choose Run new task, and type explorer.exe. Persistent problems after every restart point to a damaged user profile or a startup app; testing in a new user account quickly tells which.

After big Windows updates, a single restart of the PC usually settles any taskbar glitches on its own.

The language and input indicator

If you have more than one keyboard language, an indicator such as ENG or ENG IN appears near the clock. It shows the current input language and switches with Windows + Space. If you only use one language, remove the extra keyboard under Settings > Time & language > Language & region and the indicator disappears. If you need several languages but not the indicator, open Typing > Advanced keyboard settings and use the desktop language bar option instead.

The indicator also shows input modes for languages with them, such as Japanese or Chinese input; keep it visible if you switch modes often.

Laptops sold in one country and used in another often arrive with an extra keyboard layout; removing the unused one cleans up the indicator and prevents accidental layout switches.

Badges and flashing taskbar icons

Apps can show unread counts as small badges on their taskbar icons and flash orange when they want attention. Turn these off under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors with Show badges on taskbar apps and Show flashing on taskbar apps. That keeps the taskbar calm during presentations and for people easily distracted by movement.

Badges are useful for chat and email apps you check often; turning them off for everyone is not necessary, so consider whether they help or distract you before switching them off.

Notification settings for each app, under Settings > System > Notifications, also control whether badges appear, so you can keep them for messaging apps and turn them off for everything else.

Flashing is the taskbar's way of saying an app finished something or needs input, such as a download completing or a message arriving; if you turn it off, check those apps' windows occasionally so nothing waits unnoticed.

Show app names next to taskbar icons

Windows 11 can show app names beside taskbar icons, which helps people who find icons hard to tell apart. Under Taskbar behaviors, set Combine taskbar buttons and hide labels to Never or When taskbar is full. Labels take more room, so they work best with fewer pinned apps or a wider screen.

Labels also help screen reader and magnifier users, since each button's name is visible and easier to target.

If the taskbar fills up with labels on, the setting When taskbar is full shows labels only until space runs out, which is a good compromise on laptops.

Combined with left alignment, labels give a taskbar that looks and works much like older Windows versions, which many longtime users prefer.

Taskbar alignment, size and position

Under Taskbar behaviors, Taskbar alignment sets icons centered or left, like Windows 10. Show smaller taskbar buttons fits more icons on small screens. On current Windows 11 versions the taskbar can also move to the top or sides; our guide to moving the taskbar explains how.

Left alignment also puts the Start button back in the corner, where years of Windows habit expect it, which many people find faster than a centered Start.

Changes apply immediately and are per user, so each person on a shared PC can choose their own alignment and size.

Very small taskbar buttons can be fiddly on touch screens, so leave the default size on tablets and 2-in-1s.

Auto-hide the whole taskbar

To hide the taskbar entirely until you point at the bottom of the screen, turn on Automatically hide the taskbar under Taskbar behaviors. It gives full height to apps on small laptop screens. If it refuses to hide, an app is usually asking for attention; our guide to a taskbar that will not auto-hide covers the fixes.

On touch screens, swipe up from the bottom edge to reveal an auto-hidden taskbar; on a desktop, point the mouse at the bottom edge.

Auto-hide is especially useful on small laptop screens and for full-screen work such as photo editing, where every pixel of height counts.

If the taskbar pops up repeatedly while auto-hidden, an app is flashing for attention or a notification is waiting; dealing with it, or turning off flashing, lets the taskbar stay hidden again.

The show-desktop corner

The thin strip at the far right of the taskbar minimizes everything to show the desktop. Turn it on or off under Taskbar behaviors with Select the far corner of the taskbar to show the desktop. Windows + D does the same from the keyboard. People who keep useful shortcuts on the desktop like it; others turn it off to avoid accidental clicks.

Hovering over the corner can also peek at the desktop without minimizing, on versions where Peek is enabled under Taskbar behaviors.

If windows keep minimizing unexpectedly, this corner is the usual culprit: a mouse drifting into the bottom-right corner clicks it.

Keyboard users can also press Windows + comma to peek at the desktop for as long as the keys are held, on versions that support it, without changing any windows.

Add End task to taskbar menus

On Windows 11, you can add End task to the right-click menu of taskbar icons, which closes a frozen app instantly. Turn it on under Settings > System > For developers (System > Advanced on some versions). It is a useful companion to a tidy taskbar for anyone who often deals with stuck apps.

End task closes the app without saving, so use it only for genuinely frozen apps, not as a quick way to close normal windows.

It is also available on Windows 11 Home, since it sits in the developer settings page that every edition includes.

If an app keeps freezing, End task is a stopgap; updating or reinstalling the app is the real fix.

A five-minute taskbar tidy

1. Hide Search (or set it to an icon), Task view and Widgets if you do not use them.
2. Unpin apps you never open, and pin the few you use daily.
3. In Other system tray icons, turn on only the icons you actually click: often cloud storage and a VPN.
4. Exit or remove startup apps behind icons you never use.
5. Turn off badges and flashing if they distract you.

Repeat the tidy every few months; new apps add icons and startup entries quietly, and a quick review keeps the taskbar from filling up again.

Ten minutes a year keeps the tray readable, and the steps take far less time than they take to read.

Taskbar icons on multiple monitors

With more than one display, Windows 11 can show the taskbar on all of them. Under Taskbar behaviors, check Show my taskbar on all displays and choose where open app icons appear: all taskbars, the main taskbar and the one where the window is open, or only where the window is open. Tray icons and the clock appear on the main display's taskbar; secondary taskbars show the clock on recent versions but not the full tray.

If tray icons seem missing on a second monitor, that is expected; check the main display's taskbar, where the tray always lives.

Laptop users who dock to an external monitor often prefer the taskbar only on the big screen; clear Show my taskbar on all displays and make the external monitor the main display to keep the laptop screen clean.

Simple taskbars for relatives

For older relatives or children, a sparse taskbar helps most: hide Search, Task view and Widgets, show labels next to icons, pin only the handful of apps they use, and keep just the volume, network and battery icons visible. Fewer things to click means fewer accidental changes and fewer calls asking where something went.

A screenshot of the finished taskbar, saved somewhere safe, makes it easy to put things back the way they were if someone rearranges it later.

Pin the apps in the order they are used most, so Windows + 1 always opens the browser and Windows + 2 the email, which makes phone instructions much simpler.

Turn off Widgets and search highlights for them too; moving news and pictures on the taskbar are a common source of accidental clicks.

For IT admins: taskbar icons on managed PCs

Policies. Start Menu and Taskbar policies can hide the notification area, lock taskbar settings, and remove Task view or Widgets. Taskbar layout XML controls pinned apps. In Intune, the Start and Experience CSPs cover the same ground.

Agents. Security and management agents often add tray icons; most can be configured to run without one. Fewer icons means fewer support calls about "what is this?"

Users. Explain which icons matter, such as VPN and backup status, so staff do not hide icons that tell them something important.

Kiosks. For kiosks and shared devices, policies can remove the notification area entirely so users see only the apps they need.

Showing and hiding taskbar icons: frequently asked questions

Ethan's grandmother's taskbar now shows her five apps, her four tray icons and nothing else, folded or unfolded. The difference is calm: nothing unfamiliar by the clock, nothing disappearing when she switches to tablet use. The taskbar is the part of Windows you see most, and a few minutes spent deciding what belongs there pays off every single day.

Revision note. Written October 2, 2026, rewriting our 2015 tablet mode tip into a full guide to every Windows 11 and 10 taskbar icon. May your taskbar show only what you use.