How to Hide Mobile Device Notification Badges in Windows 11 Start Menu
Mobile device notification badges in Windows 11 are the red dots and numbers that show up on your phone links in the Start menu for unread texts and missed calls. You can hide these badges in the Settings app to keep your Start menu clean and free from phone distractions.
Turning off phone alerts takes just a few clicks in Windows 11. Open your settings, go to Personalization, pick Start, and turn off the switch for showing account or phone notifications.
Open the Phone Link app and go to Settings . Select “Start menu personalization,” then toggle the “Badges” button on or off under Notifications to hide or show notification badges. This helps keep your Start menu clean.
What Is Phone Link?
Phone Link is a built-in Windows 11 app that connects your smartphone to your computer so you can view text messages, make calls, and check notifications right on your desktop. It also adds your phone’s battery level and connection status directly into the Start menu for quick access throughout the day.
Starting with Windows 11 22635.4805 (Beta), you can easily access content on your mobile device directly from the Start menu on your PC. This feature lets you view your device’s battery status and connectivity, access your voice messages and calls, and view your photos.
Why Hide Notification Badges?
A recent Phone Link app update lets you show or hide your device’s notification badges in the Start menu on Windows 11. This helps keep your Start menu clean and less cluttered.
How to Show or Hide Mobile Device Notification Badges in Start Menu
To hide notification badges Windows 11 displays for your connected phone, open the Phone Link app, go to Settings , and turn off the Badges option. This stops red alert dots and message counts from showing up on your profile icon in the Start menu , giving you a cleaner look.
- First, open the Phone Link app.
- Click the Settings button (gear icon) at the top right corner of your screen.
Phone Link app settings button - Select "Start menu personalization" from the menu.
- Under "Notifications" on the right side, toggle the "Badges" button on or off to display or hide notification badges on the Start menu.
Phone Link notification badges on start menu
Notification badges now appear or disappear based on your choice for mobile devices in the Windows 11 Start Menu. This setting controls whether unread message counts show for apps like your phone. You can turn this feature on or off anytime to manage visual clutter.
Summary
Managing your mobile alerts is simple once you know where to look. You can hide notification badges Windows 11 shows from your connected smartphone by tweaking a single toggle inside the Phone Link settings menu, keeping your desktop interface clean and free of phone distractions.
- The Phone Link app connects your phone and PC together.
- Recent updates let you control notification badges in the Start menu.
- Open Phone Link, go to Settings, and toggle the Badges option on or off.
- Hiding badges helps keep your Start menu clean and organized.
- You can change this setting anytime to match how you work.
Was this guide helpful?
About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard is a writer at Geek Rewind who turns complex IT tasks into clear, step-by-step guides. He draws on years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, focusing on Windows, Linux and WordPress: the problems people actually run into, and the fixes that work. His server and WordPress guides come from systems he runs himself. Richard builds and maintains the platform behind Geek Rewind, from its Ubuntu servers and Nginx configuration to its custom WordPress plugins. Many new tutorials start with readers' questions, and he's always glad to answer them in the comments.
No comments yet — be the first to share your thoughts!