How to hide or show Windows Security icon on Taskbar via Settings, REGEDIT or GPEDIT

When it comes to security in Windows 11/10, there are two groups of users: one who thinks Windows Security is not secure and one who never wants to use any third-party Antivirus to secure their PC. Depending on the camp you are in, you either want to hide or show the Windows Security icon on the Taskbar. In this article, we will see how to hide or show the Windows Security icon on the Taskbar via Settings, REGEDIT, or GPEDIT.

Hide or show Windows Security icon on Taskbar

These are the ways by which we are going to hide or show the Windows Security icon on the Taskbar.

1. Via Settings
2. Via Registry Editor
3. Via GroupPolicy Editor.

Let us talk about them in detail.

1] Hide or show Windows Security icon on Taskbar Via Settings

One of the simplest ways to manage the Windows Security icon is via Settings. To do that, you need to follow these steps:

1. Launch Settings by Win + X > Settings.
2. Click Personalization > Taskbar > Select which icons appear on the taskbar.
3. Now, use the toggle in front of the Windows Security notification icon to hide or show its icon.

Read: How to remove Windows Defender Icon from Notification Area

2] Via Registry Editor

If you don’t want to do it from Settings, try doing the same from the Registry Editor. The only caveat is that it only works if your Windows 10 Build version is 1803 or older.

If you have that version, launch Registry Editor from the Start Menu and go to the following location.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows Defender Security Center\Systray

Double-click on HideSystray and set its value to 1 to hide and 0 to show the Windows Security icon.

Note: If you are not seeing this key, right-click on the right window, and select New > Dword 32-bit, and name it “HideSystray”.

Read: Can you suppress or disable Security Center notifications in Windows 11?

3] Via Group Policy Editor

If your Windows 10 Build version is above 1803, you should use Group Policy Editor instead of Registry Editor to hide or show the Windows Security icon.

To do that, launch Group Policy Editor from the Start Menu and navigate to the following location.

Computer Configuration \ Administrative Templates \ Windows Components \ Windows Security \ Systray

Click Systray, double-click “Hide Windows Security Systray”, select Enabled to hide, and Disabled to show the Windows Security icon on the Taskbar.

Finally, click Apply > Ok.

Hopefully, we have helped you manage your Windows Security icon in the Taskbar.

Windows Security icon missing from taskbar in Windows 11

If you find that the Windows Security icon is missing from the taskbar in Windows 11, you will have to toggle On the Windows Security notification icon to show its icon, as explained in this post.

Read Next: How to enable or disable Windows Security Center.