Windows

How to Hide or Show Desktop Icons in Windows 11

Written by

Richard

Mar 19, 2026 2 min read

You can hide or show all desktop icons in Windows 11 using a quick option in the right-click menu.

When you hide desktop icons, you declutter your screen. This removes shortcuts, files, and folders from your main workspace.

This works by turning the icons on or off within Windows 11’s standard desktop view.

You can choose to hide icons for just your user account or for all users on the PC.

⚡ Quick Answer

Right-click your desktop, select View, then click Show desktop icons to toggle their visibility. This option checks or unchecks the box, making icons appear or disappear.

Option One

Hide or Show Desktop Icons Using the Right-Click Menu

Right-click on your desktop.
Click View.
Click Show desktop icons to turn them on (checked) or off (unchecked).

Right-click desktop context menu with View option highlighted

Option Two

Hide and Disable All Desktop Items Using Group Policy Editor

You can hide all desktop icons for everyone on your computer using the Group Policy Editor, but this method is only available on Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education versions and needs administrator access.

Note: The Local Group Policy Editor (a tool for managing advanced Windows settings) is only available in Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.

Open the Local Group Policy Editor and navigate to one of these locations in the left pane:

(For all users)

Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Desktop

(For a specific user or group)

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Desktop

In the right pane under Desktop, double-click Hide and disable all items on the desktop.

Hide and Disable All Items on the Desktop

This will also disable the desktop right-click menu.

Select the dot next to Enabled.
Click OK.

Undo Hide and Disable All Items on the Desktop

Select the dot next to Not Configured.
Click OK.

Close the Local Group Policy Editor.
Either restart the explorer process, sign out and back in, or restart your computer to apply the changes.

Group Policy Editor showing Hide and disable items on desktop

Group Policy settings for hiding desktop icons configuration options

Option Three

Hide and Disable All Desktop Items Using the Registry

⚠️ Requires admin privileges

Hide and Disable All Items on the Desktop for All Users

This will also disable the desktop right-click menu.

🗝️Registry

reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer" /v NoDesktop /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer" /v NoDesktop /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f

Undo Hide and Disable All Items on the Desktop for All Users

🗝️Registry

reg delete "HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer" /v NoDesktop /f
reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionPoliciesExplorer" /v NoDesktop /f

That’s it!

Summary

You’ve learned several ways to hide or show your desktop icons in Windows 11, with the right-click menu being the fastest for most users.

How to hide and unhide icons?

And here you will find a check mark show desktop icons the moment I click on that it will bring back the desktop icons. And if I want to hide. Again then I'll just do a right click i'll go to view.

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Tags: #Windows 11

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About the Author

Richard

Tech Writer, IT Professional

Richard, a writer for Geek Rewind, is a tech enthusiast who loves breaking down complex IT topics into simple, easy-to-understand ideas. With years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, he’s developed a knack for offering practical tips and solutions. Richard aims to make technology more accessible and actionable. He's deeply committed to the Geek Rewind community, always ready to answer questions and engage in discussions.

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