There are several applications and Windows functionalities that we can access in different ways. This is something that Microsoft itself proposes to us in order to facilitate our daily work with the operating system. And it is in this way that users open what they need most in the most efficient and fast way.
This is largely achieved through certain desktop shortcuts, for example. We can also use other elements included in the Redmond software such as the Notification Area or the taskbar. It is precisely this second one that we want to talk about at the moment.
Uses and advantages of the Windows taskbar
It is something that most of you experience first-hand practically every day, specifically we refer to the advantages that this element offers us. And it is that in the aforementioned bar we have the possibility of adding all kinds of shortcuts to have them in view at all times. Therefore, here we usually anchor the icons of the applications that we use the most to open them directly at any time. But that’s not all, since at the same time this is where the icons of the rest of the running programs are located.
So we can put them in the foreground on the screen whenever we need to use them, for example. At the same time, these shortcuts allow us to interact with the running programs thanks to their contextual menu.
At the same time, Microsoft’s own operating system places in this same place a series of its own icons that it considers useful and widely used. So we see the volume control, the network connection, the power icon, or one called Meet Now. All of them are there, among others, to access certain Windows functions directly. But of course, as with many other sections of the system, this is something customizable. In fact, along these same lines, we are going to focus on one of the least used in this sense, the aforementioned Meet Now.
Different ways to disable Meet Now from the taskbar
This is one of the many elements that we can see in this bar, which in most cases is of no use to us. It no longer takes up space in this very useful place, space that could be used by other icons of greater use. And this is an icon that has come to our teams recently, since it has been launched in the most recent versions of the system. For those of you who don’t know, this is a shortcut that in principle allows us to quickly create a meeting or join another running one.
In addition, we achieve all this without the need for registration or downloads, so to use it we just have to click on the icon and use the options that appear. But what we must know is that this is an icon that, although we do not need it, cannot be uninstalled or deleted. And it is an icon of the system itself such as the volume , for example. Also, it is not necessary that we have Skype installed in Windows to appear in the bar. So if we don’t have a webcam and microphone connected to the PC, or we simply have plans to meet here, let’s see how to hide it. The operating system offers us several ways to get rid of it.
Delete Meet Now from the toolbar
The first thing we can do in this sense, is to hide this shortcut that we are pulling you from, directly from the Windows toolbar. This is the place where we will see it at first, so we only have to go to it and click with the right mouse button. At that time we will have the opportunity to select the Hide option so that this element disappears from view.
Of course, with this method, it is most likely that once we restart the PC, it will appear again, so let’s see other methods.
Hide Meet Now from the taskbar
Another option that we have in this sense is to tell Windows that we want this icon to disappear from the taskbar that we have talked about. This is the one at the bottom of the Windows desktop . Therefore, for this we have to access the Windows Configuration application. We achieve this through the Win + I key combination.
Once the corresponding window appears on the screen, in this case we opted for the Personalization option. In it, in the right panel, we see an option called Task Bar, where we click. In this case we have to locate the link that says Select the icons that will appear on the taskbar.
Thus, in the new window that appears, we only have to locate the one that interests us now, the one called Meet Now, which is active by default. Just click on the selector on the right to deactivate it and it no longer appears.
Hide Meet Now from system icons
But we have a third method to make this icon that we have talked about, no longer appear on the taskbar. For this we are now going to directly customize the icons of the operating system that we want to see, and those that we do not. Again we return to the Settings application as we told you before. But in this case, after clicking on the Taskbar section, we have to go to the link to Activate or deactivate the system icons.
With this, what we achieve is that the Windows icons are working or not. It is easy to imagine that here we have to locate the Meet Now again in order to deactivate it permanently. If at some point in the future we want you to return to the toolbar, we just have to undo this step.