Windows 11 includes a feature known as “Aero Peek” (or “Peek at Desktop”). If you move your mouse to the absolute bottom-right corner of your screen—past the clock and notification center—and simply let it hover there for a moment, all of your open application windows will instantly turn completely transparent, revealing your desktop wallpaper and any icons underneath.
While this is intended to be a quick way to check a file on your desktop without minimizing your apps, it frequently triggers by accident when you are simply trying to click the notification icon or scroll a web page. Having your entire workspace suddenly flash invisible is incredibly jarring. If you only want to see your desktop when you explicitly click the corner button, you can disable the hover-to-peek functionality.
How to Turn Off “Peek at Desktop” on Windows 11
You can disable the hover animation from your taskbar personalization settings.
- Right-click on any empty space on your Windows 11 Taskbar.
- Select Taskbar settings from the small pop-up menu.
- The Settings app will open directly to the Personalization > Taskbar page.
- Scroll to the very bottom of the window and click on the Taskbar behaviors section to expand it.
- Look down the list for a checkbox labelled Select the far corner of the taskbar to show the desktop. (In some older builds of Windows 11, it may also explicitly mention “hovering”).
- Uncheck the box.
Once unchecked, you can rest your mouse in the bottom-right corner of your screen for as long as you want, and your windows will remain perfectly solid. If you actually need to see your desktop, you can still physically click that tiny sliver of screen in the corner to minimize everything instantly.