How to Remove Search Box and Icons from Windows 10 Taskbar

UPDATED (October 12, 2023): Recently released updates such as KB5031356 and KB5030300 added or introduced a new Search box experience to Windows 10 Taskbar. When the user logs in, Windows 10 now displays Start Search fly-out or pop-up automatically containing a message “Search box has been added to your Taskbar. Want to keep this change?” with two buttons: Keep it and Undo. The new update also automatically adds new Search box powered by Bing to Windows 10 Taskbar even if the user removed or disabled the Search box from the Taskbar in past. This article will help you in removing and getting rid of the new Search box added to the Taskbar in Windows 10 operating system.

Original article posted on August 01, 2015:

The methods given in this tutorial will help you in removing Search box, Task View, People, Windows Ink Workspace, Touch Keyboard and Touchpad buttons or icons from Windows 10 Taskbar.

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If you are using Windows 10 OS or if you are regularly following our blog, you might be aware of the new Search, Task View (aka Multiple or Virtual Desktops), Windows Ink Workspace, Touch Keyboard and Touchpad icons which have been added to Windows 10 Taskbar.

In older preview builds of Windows 10, these icons couldn’t be removed or moved. There was no built-in option to hide or remove these two buttons from Windows 10 Taskbar. Also you couldn’t change their positions i.e. reorder the icons on Taskbar. They were just stuck next to the Start Menu on Windows 10 Taskbar.

Many Windows users complained about these unnecessary icons on Taskbar as there were many places and shortcuts to use Search app and one could always use WIN+TAB keys together to launch Task View feature. So basically these 2 icons were useless to many people and were wasting space on Taskbar.

Microsoft listened to users feedback and requests and added built-in options to hide/remove Cortana Search box, Task View, Windows Ink Workspace, Touch Keyboard and Touchpad buttons from Taskbar in Windows 10.

Today in this tutorial, we are going to share various ways to get rid of these extra icons from Windows 10 Taskbar.

Search_Task_View_Buttons_Removed_Windows_10_Taskbar.png

If you also want to remove these extra icons/buttons from Taskbar in Windows 10, just follow these simple steps:

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METHOD 1: Remove Search Box and Other Buttons Using Taskbar Context Menu

Just right-click on empty area on Taskbar and you’ll get options to show/hide or enable/disable various buttons and icons on Taskbar such as Search box, Search icon, Task View, Windows Ink Workspace, Touch Keyboard and Touchpad as shown in following screenshot:

Remove_My_People_Button_Windows_10_Taskbar.png

Just uncheck desired option to immediately remove its button from Taskbar.

The “Search” menu allows you to completely hide or remove the Search box from the Taskbar or show a small Search icon in place of the full search box. You can also disable “Show Search Highlights” and “Open on Hover” options from the Search menu.

Related:

[Windows 10 Tip] Remove “My People” Button and Pinned Contacts from Taskbar

[Tip] Disable Cortana and Bing Search Results in Windows 10

[Windows 10 Tip] Remove Cortana, Microsoft Edge, Contact Support and Feedback Apps

METHOD 2: Remove Search and Task View Buttons Using Registry Editor

You can also take help of following Registry tweaks to remove Search and Task View buttons from Windows 10 Taskbar:

A: Remove Search Box or Icon from Windows 10 Taskbar

1. Type regedit in RUN or Start search box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search

3. In right-side pane create a new DWORD EnableProactive and set its value to 0

In right-side pane look for a DWORD SearchboxTaskbarMode and change its value to 0

Remove_Search_Icon_Windows_10_Taskbar.png

4. Restart, log off or restart Explorer as given here to take effect.

PS: If you want to restore the icon in future, set the DWORD value to 1

B: Remove Task View Icon from Windows 10 Taskbar

1. Type regedit in RUN or Start search box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

3. In right-side pane look for a DWORD ShowTaskViewButton and change its value to 0

Remove_Task_View_Icon_Windows_10_Taskbar.png

4. Restart, log off or restart Explorer as given here to take effect.

PS: If you want to restore the icon in future, set the DWORD value to 1

C: Restrict and Remove Task View Icon from Windows 10 Taskbar

1. Type regedit in RUN or Start search box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

3. Create a new key under Explorer key and set its name as MultiTaskingView

4. Create another new key under MultiTaskingView key and set its name as AllUpView

So the final key path would be:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MultitaskingView\AllUpView

5. Now select AllUpView key and in right-side pane create a new DWORD Enabled and set its value to 0

Restrict_Task_View_Icon_Windows_10_Taskbar.png

6. Restart, log off or restart Explorer as given here to take effect.

PS: If you want to restore the icon in future, either set the DWORD value to 1 or delete the DWORD.

NOTE: The difference between Method B and Method C is that Method C also removes option to show/hide Task View button from Taskbar context menu. In other words, you can use Method C to restrict users from enabling or disabling Task View button in Windows 10 Taskbar.

That’s it. After following these tricks, you’ll be able to remove Search box and Task View icons from Taskbar in Windows 10.

Registry Script to Disable or Remove Search Box and Task View Buttons from Windows 10 Taskbar

If you don’t want to modify Registry yourself, you can download following ZIP file containing ready-made Registry scripts to do the task automatically:

The ZIP file also contains scripts to restore both icons if required.

Also Check:

[Tip] Enable or Disable Bing Search Box on Windows 10 Desktop

[Tip] Remove Search Box from Windows 11 Taskbar

Published in: Windows 10

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Thanks VG sir 😀 .. I never wanted the search button always pinned to my taskbar .. Thanks a ton 🙂

  2. Enable search box on Taskbar:

    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search
    DWORD: EnableSearchBox
    Value: 1

  3. With new Windows 10 1709 the method for hide Contacts icone in the TaskBar is this:

    DISABLE
    REG ADD “HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\People” /v PeopleBand /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f

    ENABLE
    REG ADD “HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\People” /v PeopleBand /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

    thank you REGSHOT

  4. How to get Windows XP or Windows 7 style start menu in Windows 10? Also I want some useful classic thinks. Many thanks in advance if you reply.

  5. I see that this only works for the current user, how would we remove the search bar for all users

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