Microsoft gave its famous operating system a facelift when it redesigned Windows 11, so you might find the feel to be both familiar and different. One area where Microsoft made a few changes was the taskbar, where the design and positioning of items are slightly different from what you’d find on Windows 10.
Luckily, you can still hide the taskbar in Windows if you’d like a cleaner, larger desktop experience. Though the taskbar can be useful, it can also take up unnecessary screen space and obstruct your applications. You can hide the Windows 11 taskbar by following the steps below.
What is the taskbar in Windows 11?
For starters, the taskbar in Windows 11 is the quickest way to control your computer, from great custom PC builds to ultralight laptops. It houses the Start menu, which lets you launch applications, power down your computer, and more. There’s also a search bar that can help you find whatever you’re looking for on your PC, from files to apps. You can also pin apps to the taskbar and see ones that are currently running, as well as view quick controls for things like network and battery. Finally, you’ll find widgets and the date and time that you can view at a glance.
The taskbar appears at the bottom of your display on Windows 11, but you can position it to the sides of the screen as well in the settings app. Of course, you can also hide it altogether with these steps.
How to hide the taskbar in Windows 11
- Launch the Start Menu or search for the Settings app.
- Open the Settings app.
- Click the Personalization tab in the sidebar.
- Scroll down to the Taskbar tab and click it.
- You can also right-click on the taskbar and select Taskbar settings.
- Click Taskbar behaviors in the list.
- Select the checkbox beside Automatically hide the taskbar.
Once this has been turned on, the taskbar will now retract out of view when your mouse isn’t hovering over it. If you move your mouse over there, it’ll reappear.
If you need to un-hide the taskbar in Windows 11, simply follow the above steps and uncheck the box next to automatically hide the taskbar.
How to hide the Windows 11 taskbar using the Terminal
If you don’t want to fiddle around with the settings app in Windows 11, you can jump directly to the taskbar settings using the Terminal. Here’s how.
- Launch the Terminal or PowerShell using the search bar.
- Type the command prompt:
ms-settings:taskbar
- Press Enter to continue.
- Click Taskbar behaviors in the list.
- Select the checkbox beside Automatically hide the taskbar.
Why you might want to hide the Windows 11 taskbar
Hiding the taskbar in Windows 11 is the balance between having quick access to essential functions and having a full-screen view of your content. During normal use, the taskbar will be completely hidden when this setting is enabled. However, whenever you need to access the taskbar, simply dragging your cursor to the bottom or left of the screen will reveal the taskbar. That extra bit of screen space will be much appreciated on great laptops with smaller screens, but it’ll make your content feel more immersive on screens of all sizes.
At the end of the day, hiding the taskbar on Windows 11 comes down to personal preference. If you prefer to view the taskbar at all times, you can always uncheck the box in settings to revert your choice to the factory default.