Teams app is installed by default on Windows 11 devices and also pinned to the taskbar. You can Sign in to this app using your Microsoft account credentials only. It does not work with your corporate credentials / work or school account.
The Microsoft Teams app has two versions. The first one is for personal use and comes pre-installed on Windows 11. The second version is for business users, and it’s not pre-installed. You need to set it up separately using the Intune admin center if you need it.
You can remove the default Teams chat app icon on Windows 11 in various ways. One of the simplest methods is to utilize the Intune Settings Catalog policy named “Configure Chat icon“.
Here are several alternative methods to remove the Teams chat icon in Windows 11. For detailed steps of these alternative methods, please refer to the later sections of this blog post.
- Using OMA-URI setting.
- Using Windows registry.
- Using PowerShell scripts.
- Using a Group Policy object
- Manual method to Show/Hide Teams chat Icon.
Table of Contents
STEP 1 – Create a Device Configuration Profile
To create a device configuration profile, follow below steps:
- Login on Microsoft Intune admin center
- Click on Devices > Configuration profiles
- Click on + Create profile
- Platform: Windows 10 and later
- Profile type: Settings Catalog
Basics
Provide a Name and Description of the Profile. For Example:
- Name: Remove Teams Chat Icon from Windows 11 taskbar
- Description: The Teams chat Icon will be Disabled and removed from the Taskbar of Windows 11 devices.
Configuration settings
Click on + Add settings and then search for “configure chat icon” in the settings picker. Click on the Experience Category and select the “Configure Chat Icon” setting.
- Select “Disabled” from the drop-down to disable it completely. When you select Disabled, Users won’t be able to show or hide Teams chat Icon.
- Show – If you choose “Show” from the drop-down menu, the Chat Icon will appear on the taskbar, and users can also choose to show or hide it using the Settings app.
- Hide – Choosing “Hide” from the drop-down menu will hide the Chat Icon from the taskbar, and users can still choose to show or hide it using the Settings app.
- Selected Disabled for “Configure Chat Icon“.
Assignments
Now, you can assign this device configuration profile to Windows 11 devices. If you already have a group for Windows 11 devices then you can target that group. Otherwise, you can create a dynamic security group for Windows 11 devices and target this profile.
Review + Create
Review the deployment and click on Create to start the deployment process.
Sync Intune Policies
The device check-in process might not begin immediately. If you’re testing this policy on a test device, you can manually kickstart Intune sync either from the device itself or remotely through the Intune admin center.
Alternatively, you can use PowerShell to force the Intune sync on Windows devices. Another way to trigger the Intune device check-in process is by restarting the device.
STEP 2 – Monitoring Deployment Progress
To monitor the deployment progress of a Device configuration profile, follow below steps:
- Sign in to the Microsoft Intune admin center.
- Click on “Devices” and then select “Configuration profiles“
- Choose the Device Configuration profile you want to work with, and at the top of the page, you’ll see a quick view of the Success, Failure, Conflict, Not Applicable, and In Progress status.
- Click on “View report” to access more detailed information.
End-user Experience
I took snapshots before and after configuring the Chat Icon policy. Please find it below:
- Before setting Configure Chat Icon to Disabled state, Teams chat Icon is available in the taskbar and if you go to Settings App > Personalization > Taskbar, you will see a chat Icon and Toggle is switched On.
- After setting Configure Chat Icon to Disabled, Teams chat Icon is removed from the taskbar and If you go to Settings App > Personalization > Taskbar, you will no longer see a Chat option.
Alternative Methods
1. OMA-URI setting for disabling Teams chat Icon on Windows 11
You can use the OMA-URI setting ./Device/Vendor/MSFT/Policy/Config/Experience/ConfigureChatIcon to configure the Teams chat icon on a Windows 11 device. To control whether it’s shown, hidden, or disabled, you should configure the integer value as follows.
- 1- Show
- 2- Hide
- 3- Disabled
The screenshot below is an example of the configured OMA-URI setting for disabling the Teams chat icon on Windows 11.
You will need to create a Custom device configuration profile on Intune admin center to deploy OMA-URI setting on Windows 10/11 devices. For step by step guide on deployment of a OMA-URI setting, you can refer to blog post 2 Ways To Hide Gaming Under Settings On Windows Using Intune blog post.
2. Registry key for disabling Teams chat Icon on Windows 11
To remove Teams chat Icon from Windows 11 taskbar using Windows registry. You can create a registry key called Windows Chat under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows. Then create a DWORD registry entry under Windows Chat called ChatIcon and set its value to 3.
3. Powershell script to Disable Teams chat Icon on Windows 11
To remove the Teams chat icon from the taskbar on Windows 11 devices, you can create a PowerShell script to deploy the necessary registry keys and values. For detailed instructions, please refer to the blog post on how to create a registry key and values using PowerShell and deploy them using Intune remediations.
If you want to completely remove the default built-in Teams app from Windows 11, you can launch Powershell as administrator and run below command:
Remove-appxpackage -package "MicrosoftTeams_21302.202.1065.6968_x64__8wekyb3d8bbwe"
4. Group Policy for disabling Teams chat Icon on Windows 11
If you’re managing your devices through the On-prem Active Directory, you can establish a Group Policy Object to deactivate the Teams chat icon on Windows 11 devices.
You will need to Import Group Policy ADMX template for Windows 11 first and then find the setting “Configure the Chat icon on the taskbar” under Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Component\Chat.
Configure the Chat icon on the taskbar will provide three options Show, Hide, or Disabled. Set it to Disabled to disable and remove Teams chat Icon from Windows 11 device. Link this Group Policy Object to an OU containing devices.
5. Manually hide Teams chat Icon from Windows 11 devices
Please follow below steps to hide Teams chat Icon from Windows 11 devices manually.
- Press Win + I keys together to open Settings App. Alternatively, you can also search for Setting App via Start Menu.
- Go to Personalization > Taskbar.
- Toggle the switch next to Chat to off and hide Teams chat Icon from taskbar.
