Show or Hide Badges on Windows 10 Taskbar Buttons

Taskbar badges are the small notification dots and number counts that appear on app icons in Windows 10, usually for new emails, messages, or calendar alerts. Some people find them distracting, while others rely on them to catch updates at a glance. This guide shows you how to turn those badges on or off, either globally for all apps or individually for specific programs, using the built-in Windows settings.

What You’ll Need

• A PC running Windows 10 (any recent version, including 21H2 and 22H2)
• Administrator access is not required — the settings below work for standard user accounts

Step-by-Step

Turn Off All Taskbar Badges (Global Setting)

1. Open Settings. Click the Start button (Windows logo) in the bottom-left corner, then click the gear icon labeled Settings. Alternatively, press the Windows + I keys together.
2. Go to Personalization. In the Settings window, click the Personalization tile (the one with a paintbrush and color palette icon).
3. Select Taskbar. In the left sidebar of Personalization, click Taskbar.
4. Find the badge toggle. Scroll down in the right pane until you see the section labeled Notification area. The first option there is “Show badges on taskbar buttons”. It will have a toggle switch next to it.
5. Toggle it off. Click the switch so it turns gray (off position). This immediately removes all badge counts and dots from every pinned and running app on the taskbar.
6. Optional: Turn it back on. To re-enable badges, click the same toggle so it turns blue (on position).

Turn Off Badges for a Single App (Per-App Setting)

If you want to keep badges for most apps but silence one specific app (for example, you don’t want a number on your email icon), you can disable notifications for that app entirely. This is because badges are driven by the app’s notification settings.

1. Open Settings again (Start > Settings, or Windows + I).
2. Go to System. Click the System tile (the one with a laptop/display icon).
3. Select Notifications & actions. In the left sidebar, click Notifications & actions.
4. Scroll to “Get notifications from these apps”. This is a list of all installed apps that can send notifications. Scroll until you find the app you want to change (e.g., Mail, Calendar, Skype, or any other).
5. Click the app’s name. This opens a detail page for that app’s notifications.
6. Turn off the badge-related toggle. Look for the switch labeled “Show notification banners” and the one labeled “Show notifications in notification center”. To fully remove badges, turn off “Show notifications in notification center”. In most cases, turning off this single toggle removes the badge count from the taskbar icon. You can leave banners on if you still want pop-up alerts.
7. Close Settings. The change takes effect immediately.

Hide Badges Only (Keep Notifications)

Some apps have their own internal badge settings. For example, the built-in Mail app has a setting to choose what appears on the tile/badge: unread count, new mail count, or nothing. Check the app’s own settings (usually under Settings > Notifications or Personalization) for a badge-specific option. If the app doesn’t have one, the only way to remove the badge while keeping notifications is to use the per-app method above, which will also stop notification center entries.

Common Mistakes

• Looking in the wrong Settings section. The global badge toggle is under Personalization > Taskbar, not under System > Notifications. Many users search in the wrong place first.
• Turning off all notifications instead of just badges. The per-app method disables notification center entries entirely. If you only wanted to remove the number but still see the notification in the action center, this method won’t achieve that — you’ll need to check the app’s own settings for a badge-only option.
• Expecting the change to affect already-open apps. The global toggle works immediately, but if an app is already running and showing a badge, you may need to close and reopen it for the change to fully apply.
• Confusing badges with live tiles. Badges are the small numbers/dots on the taskbar icons. Live tiles are the animated content on the Start menu. This guide does not affect Start menu tiles.

Tips

• Use the global toggle for a clean look. If you find all badges distracting, turning them off globally is the fastest fix and takes less than 30 seconds.
• For a middle ground, disable badges only for high-noise apps. Keep badges for email and calendar, but turn them off for social media or messaging apps that update frequently.
• Restart the app after changing per-app settings. Some apps cache their badge state; closing and reopening them ensures the new setting is applied.
• Check the app’s own preferences first. Apps like Outlook, Slack, and Discord often have a “show unread count” or “badge” option inside their own settings. This gives you the most control (e.g., showing a dot instead of a number).
• Keyboard shortcut reminder: Windows + I opens Settings directly, saving a click.

Troubleshooting

• Badges still appear after turning off the global toggle. First, verify the toggle is actually gray (off). If it is, close all apps and restart Windows Explorer: right-click the taskbar, select Task Manager, find Windows Explorer in the list, right-click it, and choose Restart. This refreshes the taskbar without a full reboot.
• Per-app setting doesn’t remove the badge. Some apps (especially older ones or those using custom notification systems) ignore the Windows notification settings. Try the app’s own settings. If none exist, the only reliable fix is to disable the app’s notifications entirely via the Windows method, or unpin the app from the taskbar and use it from the Start menu instead.
• The toggle is grayed out (unclickable). This is rare but can happen if a Group Policy is enforced on a work or school PC. You’ll need to contact your IT administrator, as the setting is locked by policy.
• Badges come back after a reboot. This usually means the setting wasn’t saved properly. Go back to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar, toggle the badge setting off, then on, then off again. Close Settings and restart the PC to confirm it sticks.
• After turning badges off, some apps show a plain white dot. That dot is not a badge — it’s the “notification dot” that indicates the app has any notification at all. If you want to remove that too, you must use the per-app method and turn off “Show notifications in notification center” for that specific app.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does turning off badges also stop notification sounds and pop-ups?
A: No. The global badge toggle only affects the visual number/dot on the taskbar icon. Notification banners, sounds, and action center entries are controlled separately under System > Notifications & actions.

Q: Can I show badges for some apps and hide them for others?
A: Yes. Keep the global toggle on, then use the per-app method (System > Notifications & actions) to turn off notifications for the specific apps you don’t want badges from. There is no per-app badge-only toggle in Windows itself; you’re effectively turning off all notifications for that app.

Q: Why do some apps still show a number even after I turned off badges globally?
A: This can happen if the app is using a custom taskbar overlay or a legacy API. The global setting applies to standard Windows badges. For such apps, check the app’s own settings or consider unpinning it from the taskbar.

Q: Will this setting sync across my devices?
A: No. The badge setting is per-device. If you use the same Microsoft account on multiple PCs, you’ll need to change it on each one.

Q: Does this affect the Start menu tiles?
A: No. Start menu tiles have their own notification badges and are controlled separately. This guide only affects the taskbar buttons.

Q: I can’t find the “Show badges on taskbar buttons” option. Why?
A: Make sure you’re on Windows 10, not Windows 11. In Windows 11, the option is under Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar behaviors, and it’s called “Badges.” If you’re on Windows 10 and still can’t find it, check that your Windows version is updated (Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update).

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