[Windows 10 Tip] Everything You Want to Know About “Meet Now” Icon Including How to Remove It?

This article will assist you in understanding everything about the new “Meet Now” icon or button added to Windows 10 Taskbar notification area (or system tray). We’ll try to answer all your questions (FAQ) such as What is Meet Now? What does it actually do? How was it installed or added to your Windows 10 device? How to uninstall or remove it? etc.

Yesterday, after installing new Windows updates in one of my Windows 10 devices, I noticed the new Meet Now icon showing in Taskbar notification area. I was waiting for it since a few months as the icon was recently introduced in Windows 10 Insider Preview builds (check build 20221 changelog) for testing purposes. I was waiting when will it arrive to stable public versions of Windows 10?

Following screenshot shows new Meet Now icon present in Windows 10 Taskbar notification area:

Advertisement

Meet_Now_Icon_Windows_10_Taskbar_Notification_Area.png

When you click on the icon, it shows a fly-out containing 2 buttons: Create a meeting and Join a meeting.

What is Meet Now Icon in Windows 10?

So what is actually Meet Now? Meet Now is a new feature introduced in Skype app which allows users to invite and join people to a video call or chat even if they don’t have a Skype account.

To make Windows 10 users life easier, Microsoft decided to add a direct shortcut icon to Meet Now functionality to Taskbar so that users can quickly and easily use Meet Now feature of Skype app.

How was it installed in your Windows 10 device?

Meet Now icon is added by a Windows cumulative update automatically installed via Windows Updates in Windows 10.

What does Meet Now do in Windows 10?

Meet Now is independent from Skype app so even if you don’t have Skype (or Microsoft Teams) app installed in your Windows 10 computer or even if you uninstalled and removed Skype app from your Windows 10 computer, Meet Now icon will be added to Taskbar via new Windows updates.

Meet Now icon is just a shortcut, link or placeholder to launch Skype app (if installed) to create or join a meeting. If Skype is not installed in a device, Meet Now icon will launch a browser app with Skype for Web opened in a tab.

Advertisement

How to hide or remove Meet Now icon in Windows 10 Taskbar?

If you don’t want to use Meet Now feature and want to get rid of the Meet Now icon or button from Windows 10 Taskbar, it’s very easy to do. Just right-click on Meet Now icon and select “Hide” option from context menu.

Hide_Disable_Meet_Now_Icon_Windows_10_Taskbar_Notification_Area.png

That’s it. It’ll permanently disable and remove Meet Now icon from Windows 10 Taskbar and you’ll never see it again.

You can also completely turn off Meet Now icon using Taskbar Settings page. Right-click on empty area on Taskbar and select “Taskbar Settings” option. Scroll down and click on “Turn system icons on or off” link. Now set the toggle button given next to “Meet Now” option to OFF.

Delete_Remove_Meet_Now_Icon_Windows_10_Taskbar_Notification_Area.png

That’s it. It’ll completely turn off Meet Now icon and Windows 10 will no longer show the icon in Taskbar.

Is there any Registry tweak to disable or remove Meet Now icon in Windows 10 Taskbar?

Yes. If you want a Registry tweak to disable or remove Meet Now icon in bulk in multiple Windows 10 devices, here is the required Registry method:

Open registry Editor and go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

In right-side, create a new DWORD, set its name as HideSCAMeetNow and set its value to 1 to hide the Meet Now icon in Taskbar.

Hide_Remove_Meet_Now_Icon_Windows_10_Taskbar_Using_Registry_Editor.png

In future, if you decide to show Meet Now icon again, delete the above mentioned DWORD from Registry Editor.

PS: You’ll need to restart or log off to apply changes after making changes to Registry Editor. You can also restart Explorer as mentioned here.

How to uninstall or remove Meet Now app in Windows 10?

You can’t. Meet Now is not an standalone program or app which was installed in your computer system. It’s just a placeholder to launch Skype app or Skype for Web page. It’s integrated into Windows Shell. You can consider it as a core part of Windows 10 Shell just like other Taskbar icons or buttons such as Cortana, Task View, Volume, Network, clock, Action Center, etc.

That’s why you’ll not see any uninstallation option for Meet Now anywhere in Windows 10. It’s a simple icon which can be deleted or removed using above mentioned methods.

So if you want to uninstall or remove Meet Now in Windows 10, hiding or disabling the icon from Taskbar using above mentioned steps is the correct and only way.

Also Check:

Now You can Hide “Windows Update Status Icon” in Windows 10 Taskbar Notification Area

What are MusNotifyIcon.exe, MusNotificationUx.exe and MusNotification.exe Processes in Windows 10?

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. Excellent article. It’s too bad Microsoft has prevented their end users from removing bloatware from their registered copies of Windows 10 yet again. Third party applications such as Zoom has been working great since the beginning of the pandemic for video conferencing with family and friends.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

NOTE: Your comment may not appear immediately. It'll become visible once we approve it.