Hide a program from the taskbar
Short answer: you can't hide a running program from the Windows taskbar with a built-in setting. gohide hides it with a hotkey — taskbar button, window, Alt+Tab entry and tray icon — while the program keeps running, and brings it back with the same key. Free for up to 3 apps, Windows 10 and 11.
Windows has no built-in way to hide a running program from the taskbar. Minimizing doesn't help — the button stays. Closing works, but you lose your state: downloads stop, the game exits, the chat logs out. What people actually want is what one forum user put perfectly: "entirely remove that icon, yet the program still runs in the background." The classic reply — "most applications won't let you do that" — is wrong. It's possible; it just needs the right tool.
What "hidden" needs to mean
Hiding the taskbar button alone isn't enough. A running app shows up in four places:
| Where it shows | Hidden by minimize? | Hidden by gohide? |
|---|---|---|
| The window itself | yes | yes |
| Taskbar button | no | yes |
| Alt+Tab switcher | no | yes |
| System-tray icon | no | yes — even on Windows 11 |
Tools in the "minimize to tray" family (RBTray, Traymond) move the window into the tray — but that adds a tray icon, and the app's own tray icon stays put. If the goal is privacy rather than tidiness, that's the opposite of what you want.
Hide a running program completely
- Download gohide — free for up to 3 apps, Windows 10 & 11 (x64 / ARM64).
- Add the program to gohide's list.
- Press your hide hotkey: the window, its taskbar button, its Alt+Tab entry and its tray icon all disappear together. The program keeps running, untouched.
- Press the same hotkey to bring everything back exactly where it was. A global restore-all hotkey guarantees nothing is ever stranded.
The app never closes and never loses state — it's simply not visible anywhere until you say so. Optionally mute it while hidden, or with Pro, suspend it so it stops using CPU entirely.
Free vs Pro
Everything above works in the free edition, for up to 3 apps and with no time limit. gohide Pro adds unlimited apps, process suspend, the privacy cover, dynamic rules, mouse and hot-corner triggers and a PIN lock for Settings — a one-time purchase with free updates, no subscription. See pricing.
Related: App hider for PC