If you use a multi-monitor setup, Windows 11 automatically duplicates your taskbar across all connected screens by default. While some users prefer having quick access to the Start menu on every monitor, others find the duplicated taskbars distracting and a waste of valuable screen real estate. Fortunately, you can easily configure Windows to show the taskbar only on your primary display.
How to Hide the Taskbar on Secondary Monitors
You can manage this setting directly from the Windows 11 Personalization menu without needing any third-party software or registry edits.
- Right-click anywhere on the empty space of your Windows 11 taskbar.
- Click on Taskbar settings from the small pop-up menu. This will open the Settings app directly to the Personalization section.
- Scroll down the page and click on Taskbar behaviors to expand the dropdown menu.
- Look for the setting labeled Show my taskbar on all displays.
- Uncheck the box next to this setting.
The taskbars on your secondary and tertiary monitors will instantly vanish, leaving you with a clean, uninterrupted desktop across those screens. The taskbar will remain fully functional on your primary, main display.
How to Keep the Taskbars but Clean Up the Clutter
If you decide you actually do want the taskbar on all monitors, but you hate seeing all your open app icons duplicated everywhere, Windows offers a compromise.
Leave the “Show my taskbar on all displays” option checked, and look at the dropdown menu directly beneath it called “When using multiple displays, show my taskbar apps on.” Change this setting from “All taskbars” to “Taskbar where window is open.”
Now, every monitor will have a taskbar, but it will only display the icons for the applications currently running on that specific screen, keeping your multi-monitor setup incredibly organized.