Hiding the System Date and Time

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated October 11, 2018)

Your computer uses an internal clock which keeps track of both the date and current time. Windows relies upon this clock and works closely with it. For instance, when Windows saves a file, the current date and time are saved with the file. Windows makes this time available to you as a clock, visible at the right side of the Taskbar, in the Notifications area.

If you find the date and time distracting, you can turn off their display in the Notifications area. Just follow these steps if you are using Windows 7 or Windows 8:

  1. Right-click the clock, in the Notifications area. Windows displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Properties from the Context menu. Windows displays the Systems Icons window. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Systems Icons window.

  3. Click the drop-down in the Behaviors column, to the right of the Clock system icon, and choose Off. The date and time immediately disappear from the Notifications area.
  4. Click OK.

Follow these steps if you are using Windows 10:

  1. Right-click the clock, in the Notifications area. Windows displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Taskbar Settings from the Context menu. Windows displays the Taskbar window in Settings. (See Figure 2.)

    3. Figure 2. The Taskbar window.

  3. Scroll down, if needed, to the Notification area on the right side of the Taskbar window and click on Turn System Icons On or Off. Windows displays the Turn System Icons On or Off window. (See Figure 3.)

    4. Figure 3. Turn System Icons On or Off.

  4. Turn on or off the system icons you want (in this case, Clock).
  5. When finished, close Settings.

You should note that these steps don't disable the system clock—it is still there, in the background, doing the important work it needs to do. The only thing these steps do is to turn off the display of the data and time in the Notifications area of the Taskbar.

 This tip (10800) applies to Windows 7, 8, and 10.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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