How to Hide or Show Desktop Icons in Windows 11

This guide will show you how to hide or show all desktop icons in Windows 11. You can do this for just your account, specific users, or everyone on the computer.

Your desktop (Win+D) is your main screen and workspace in Windows. It contains the taskbar and any icons you add, like shortcuts, files, and folders.

Reference:

Customize the Desktop Icons in Windows – Microsoft Support

Learn how to customize the default desktop icons in Windows. You can change their size and show or hide all of them whenever you want.

When you hide desktop icons, they’re still there. You just won’t see them on your screen. Your hidden icons will always be saved in your %UserProfile%Desktop and shell:desktop folders.

Option One

Hide or Show Desktop Icons Using the Right-Click Menu

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

Option Two

Hide and Disable All Desktop Items Using Group Policy Editor

⚠️ Requires admin privileges

Note: The Local Group Policy Editor is only available in Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions.

1. 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

OR

(For a specific user or group)

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Desktop

1. 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.

1. Select the dot next to Enabled.
2. Click OK.

Undo Hide and Disable All Items on the Desktop

1. Select the dot next to Not Configured.
2. Click OK.

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

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.

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

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

That’s it!

Summary

You now know four different ways to hide or show desktop icons in Windows 11. The right-click menu method is the easiest for most people. If you need to hide icons for all users on your computer, use the Group Policy or Registry options. Remember that hidden icons are still there—they just don’t show on your screen. You can always unhide them using the same steps.