How to show the number of unread notifications on application icons in the Windows 11 taskbar

This pretty useful feature can be disabled by default, here's how to enable it for your reference.

First, open the Windows Settings app. You can use the link in the Quick Settings menu or press Windows + i on your keyboard.

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When the Settings menu opens, select ' Personalization ' in the list on the right, then click ' Taskbar '.

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On the Taskbar settings screen, click ' Taskbar Behaviors '.

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When the list of options appears, check the box next to the option ' Show badges (unread messages counter) on taskbar apps '.

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Now close the Settings menu. The next time you open a messaging or social networking app with unread messages or notifications, you'll see a red numbered badge just above its icon in the taskbar. The number in the badge shows the number of unread in-app notifications.

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In case you want to disable this feature, just go back to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar > Taskbar Behaviors and uncheck the ' Show badges (unread messages counter) on taskbar apps ' option to turn it off.

Micah Soto

Update 31 July 2021