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How to Hide System Tray Icons in Windows 10

Introduction

The Windows 10 system tray is where shortcut icons are located for some of the core functionality on your computer, such as the network shortcut, power indicator, volume, touchpad and more. Whether you’re not a fan of some of these more traditional icons that have appeared in the system tray for a long time, or some of the newer icons Microsoft has pushed out, like the much-maligned Meet Now icon, the icons can easily be hidden. It should be noted that these items can only be hidden and the underlying features can’t be deleted from your computer. Examples of all instructions in the steps can be seen in the YouTube video below.

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Steps to Hide System Tray Icons in Windows 10

  1. Click the “Windows” icon on your taskbar to open a menu, and then click “Settings” in the menu. The Settings screen is shown.
  2. Click “Personalization” on this screen. The Personalization screen is displayed.
  3. Choose “Taskbar” in the list of options in the menu on the left side of the screen. Taskbar options are shown on the right side of the screen.
  4. Scroll down to Notification Area, and then click “Turn System Icons On or Off.” The associated screen is shown.
  5. Click to toggle off any options in this list, such as Meet Now, to hide them on your Windows system tray. In this example I’ll turn off Location, Windows Ink Workspace, Microphone and Meet Now. The changes will be applied automatically, and you will no longer see the items you chose to hide in your Windows 10 system tray. As a reminder this doesn’t delete those items from your computer, but only removes them from the system tray.
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About Max

Max has nearly 20 years of experience working in IT across three different industries in project management and management capacities: publishing, telecommunications and healthcare. He holds the following degrees and certifications: BS Communications, MA Communications, MBA and Project Management Professional (PMP). His tutorial-focused YouTube channel earned more than 100,000 subscribers in its first four years, and currently has more than 160,000 subscribers, 110,000,000 video views and an insane 2.4 million hours of watch time. Max enjoys learning new technology, reading and collecting comic books, listening to audiobooks and playing video games.

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