How to remove Internet Explorer from taskbar

Internet explorer keeps coming back on the taskbar after a reboot. This happens both in Windows 10 and Windows 11. Unpinning it doesn’t help, the internet explorer icon pins itself again.

internet explorer

Solution 1 First Attempt (normal approach for everything else)

You might already have tried this and hence it just pins itself again. But never the less try this first.

  1. Right-click on the Internet Explorer icon in the taskbar.
  2. Select “Unpin from taskbar” from the drop-down menu.
  3. The Internet Explorer icon will be removed from the taskbar.

Solution 2 Permanently remove Internet Explorer from taskbar (Recommended)

This is what I would recommend doing. Open the following file.

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\LayoutModification.xml

Locate the tag <taskbar:TaskbarPinList> and remove the internet explorer link.

<taskbar:TaskbarPinList>
    <taskbar:DesktopApp DesktopApplicationLinkPath="%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Accessories\Internet Explorer.lnk" />
</taskbar:TaskbarPinList>

Restart your PC and look how the internet explorer link has gone away from your taskbar.

Solution 3 Disabling Internet Explorer completely

Alternatively, you can also disable Internet Explorer from the Windows Features list, which will remove it from the taskbar as well as from the Windows operating system. Here’s how:

  1. Click on the Start menu and type “Turn Windows features on or off” in the search box.
  2. Click on the “Turn Windows features on or off” option from the search results.
  3. In the Windows Features dialog box, find the “Internet Explorer” option and uncheck the box next to it.
  4. Click OK and wait for Windows to make the necessary changes.
  5. Restart your computer.

After restarting your computer, Internet Explorer should no longer be visible on the taskbar or in the Windows operating system.