The Distracting Notifications
Windows 10 aims to keep you informed about what is happening within your applications even when you don’t have them open. One of the ways it achieves this is through a feature called “Show badging on taskbar buttons.” When enabled, applications that receive notifications (such as the Mail app receiving a new email, or Alarms & Clock having a pending timer) will display a small, brightly colored circle containing a number directly on their icon sitting in your taskbar.
While this is useful for ensuring you don’t miss an important message, it can become a significant distraction. If you use your PC for focused work, seeing a red circle with a “14” on your email client is a constant, nagging psychological pull to stop what you are doing and check your inbox. For users who prefer to check their communications on their own schedule rather than being constantly prompted by the operating system, these badges are an unwelcome interruption and should be disabled.
How to Turn Off Taskbar Badges
You can disable these notification circles via the Windows Taskbar settings.
- Right-click anywhere on an empty space on your Taskbar (the bar at the bottom of your screen).
- From the context menu that appears, select Taskbar settings.
- The Settings window will open directly to the Taskbar personalization page.
- Scroll down the list of options until you find the toggle labelled Show badges on taskbar buttons.
- Click the toggle switch to turn it Off.
The notification numbers will immediately vanish from all icons pinned to your taskbar. Your applications will still receive notifications in the Action Center (if enabled), but they will no longer visually nag you from the bottom of your screen.