How to hide News and Interests in the Windows 10 taskbar

Any changes that Microsoft brings to Windows 10 have a tendency to be rather polarizing, and the latest addition of News and Interests to the taskbar is no different.

While on the face of it, the ability to keep updated with the latest news headlines, see up-to-date weather forecasts, track stock prices and more from the taskbar may seem useful, it's certainly not of interest to everyone. So, if the feature has rolled out to you and you don't like it, here's how to disable News and Interests in the taskbar.

See also:

• Microsoft announces surprise change to Windows 10 Aero Shake
• Windows 10 get fixes, improvements and new features with the KB5001396 update preview
• Microsoft's huge change to the Windows 10 taskbar is starting to roll out to all users now

As is often the case with new Windows 10 feature, Microsoft is staging a staggered roll out of News and Interests. You may not see it immediately, but when it arrives you may well regard it as unnecessary taskbar clutter. The good news is that not only can you disable it, but it is easy to do so.

The News and Interests component of the taskbar is optional in the same way the Cortana button, Task View button and various toolbars are. Here's how to hide it:

1. Right click on an empty section of the taskbar
2. In the context menu that appears, click News and interests
3. From the sub-menu, select Turn off

That's all there is to it!