How to Show or Hide App Badges on the Windows 10 Taskbar

To show or hide app badges on the Windows 10 taskbar, open Taskbar settings and switch Show badges on taskbar buttons on or off. This is one Windows-wide setting: it controls badges for every taskbar app that supports them. It does not turn off the app’s notification banners or remove its taskbar icon.

Change the taskbar badge setting

1. Open Taskbar settings. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and select Taskbar settings. You can also open Start > Settings > Personalization > Taskbar.

2. Find the badge option. In the Taskbar settings page, scroll to the taskbar options near the bottom. In Windows 10, look for the setting named Show badges on taskbar buttons.

3. Show badges. Set the switch to On. A supported app can then display a small count or status symbol on its taskbar button when it has activity to report. You do not need to restart Windows to change this preference.
4. Hide badges. Set the same switch to Off. Windows hides supported app badges across the taskbar, while the apps themselves remain pinned and usable.

What taskbar badges do—and what they do not do

A badge is a compact status indicator attached to an app’s taskbar button. Depending on the app, it may be a number, such as an unread-item count, or a system status symbol. The badge is supplied by the app; Windows provides the setting that lets you show or hide it. That means the global switch cannot make an app display a badge if the app does not implement the feature.

An app does not always have to be open for its badge to appear. Microsoft’s Windows app documentation says supported apps can update a badge on a pinned taskbar icon even while the app is not running. Whether that works depends on the app and how it was built. So if an app shows no badge, first check that it supports taskbar badges and has new activity to report.

The Windows 10 switch is global, not a per-app selector. If you want to keep badges for one app but hide them for another, check whether the individual app has its own badge or status setting. Windows 10 does not provide separate taskbar badge switches for each app.

If badges still do not appear

• Confirm the app supports badges. Some apps show only a taskbar highlight or no taskbar indicator at all. An app must send a supported badge for Windows to display one.
• Turn off small taskbar buttons to test. Microsoft notes that badges are not displayed on small taskbar buttons. In Taskbar settings, switch Use small taskbar buttons off and check again.
• Check for new activity in the app. A badge may clear when you read a message, dismiss an alert, or resolve the status it represents. App-specific settings can also control whether a badge is sent.
• Separate badges from notification banners. The badge switch affects the mark on the taskbar button. Windows notification banners and Action Center notifications have separate controls under Settings > System > Notifications & actions. Changing banner preferences alone will not switch taskbar badges on or off.

Turning badges off hides only the marker on the taskbar button. It does not mark messages as read, dismiss a reminder, stop an app from syncing, or remove the app from the taskbar. The activity remains inside the app, and other alerts may still appear according to that app’s settings.

A badge is also different from a taskbar button flashing to get your attention. Windows has a separate Show flashing on taskbar apps option. If an icon still flashes after you turn badges off, that is expected; change the flashing option separately if you want to stop that behavior.

For the current Windows taskbar instructions, see Microsoft’s Customize the taskbar in Windows. For details on how apps provide badges, see Microsoft Learn’s badge notifications documentation. Microsoft also explains the separate Windows notification settings.