How to Manage the Shield Icon on the Windows Terminal Title Bar in Windows 11

Beginning with Windows Terminal Preview version 1.23.10353.0, Microsoft introduced a subtle but important visual cue. The UI element resembles a shield icon appearing on the Windows Terminal title bar. This object is displayed when the terminal is running with elevated privileges.

The Windows Terminal title bar shield icon helps users identify when working in an Administrator session. While it can be useful in multi-tasking or security-sensitive environments, some users or organizations may prefer a cleaner interface without it.

In this guide, we will provide step-by-step instructions for managing the presence of this shield icon in the taskbar on Windows 11. We will use a GUI, Registry Editor, PowerShell, and Group Policy.

Method 1: Configure via Windows Terminal Settings

📌 Use Case:

This method is ideal for individual users who want to manage the shield icon setting without requiring administrator privileges.

📌 Prerequisites: 

• Applies to all editions of Windows 11: These steps work across Windows 11 Home, Pro, and Enterprise editions.
• Administrator privileges are not required: No administrator privileges are required for this method.
• Per-user setting: This method applies only to the currently logged-in user and must be repeated for each user profile if needed.

Steps:

1. Launch Windows Terminal.
2. Click the dropdown arrow next to the tab bar, select Settings, or press Ctrl + , (comma).
3. Navigate to the Appearance section in the settings sidebar.
4. Look for the toggle labeled Display a shield in the title bar when Windows Terminal is running as Administrator.
5. Set this toggle to On or Off, depending on your preference.
6. Save the changes and exit the settings menu.

Method 2: Modify Registry Settings

⚠️ Warning: Editing the registry incorrectly can cause system issues. Create a backup before proceeding.

📌 Use Case:

This method is ideal for users who prefer fine-grained control over the shield icon settings.

📌 Prerequisites: 

• Applies to all editions of Windows 11: These steps work across Windows 11 Home, Pro, and Enterprise editions.
• Administrator privileges are not required: No administrator privileges are required for this method.
• Per-user setting: This method applies only to the currently logged-in user and must be repeated for each user profile if needed.

Steps:

1. Open the Registry Editor. Press the Windows key + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Navigate to the following path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Terminal\Settings
   • If the Settings key doesn’t exist:
     1. Right-click the Windows\Terminal folder and select New > Key.
     2. Name it Settings.
3. In the right pane, right-click and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name the new value: ShowAdminShield.
5. Double-click the value and set it to:
   • 1 to enable the shield icon
   • 0 to disable the shield icon
6. Click OK and close Registry Editor.
7. Restart Windows Terminal to apply the changes.

Method 3: Use PowerShell to configure the setting

📌 Use Case:

This method is ideal for system administrators who prefer scripting changes or deploying settings remotely, especially useful in managed environments.

📌 Prerequisites: 

• Applies to all editions of Windows 11: These steps work across Windows 11 Home, Pro, and Enterprise editions.
• Administrator privileges: No administrator privileges are required for this method, but elevation may be needed if access is restricted by system policies.
• Per-user setting: This method applies only to the currently logged-in user and must be repeated for each user profile if needed.

Steps:

1. Press the Windows key to open the Start Menu. Type PowerShell. Press Enter to open it normally, or click Run as administrator on the right pane of the search results if elevated access is required.
2. Run the following command:
   • To enable the shield icon:
     

     Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Terminal\Settings” -Name “ShowAdminShield” -Value 1 -Type DWord

   • To disable the shield icon:
     

     Set-ItemProperty -Path “HKCU:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Terminal\Settings” -Name “ShowAdminShield” -Value 0 -Type DWord

3. Restart Windows Terminal for the changes to take effect.

Method 4: Configure via Group Policy

📌 Use Case:

This method is best for organizations and IT admins who want to enforce a consistent policy across multiple users or machines.

📌 Prerequisites: 

• Applies to some editions of Windows 11: These steps work across Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions only.
• Administrator privileges: This method requires administrator rights.
• Per-user setting: This method can be configured per-user or per-machine in policy, but once enforced, it overrides per-user preferences and applies uniformly across applicable users (especially in domain environments).

Steps:

1. Open the Group Policy as an administrator. Press the Windows key, type gpedit.msc, then press Ctrl + Shift + Enter to run it as an administrator.
2. Navigate to: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Terminal
3. Double-click the policy named Show shield icon when running as Administrator.
4. Set the policy to:
   • Enabled to show the shield icon
   • Disabled to hide the shield icon
5. Click OK to apply.
6. Apply the changes by:
   • Opening Command Prompt and running the command: gpupdate /force
   • Simply restarting the computer

Verification

Verify if the configurations you made took effect by doing the following:

1. Launch Windows Terminal as Administrator.
2. Check the title bar for the shield icon.
3. If the icon doesn’t reflect your setting:
   • Restart Windows Terminal.
   • Double-check registry values or Group Policy settings.
   • Ensure you’re using the correct Terminal version (1.23.10353.0 or newer).

⚠️ Things to look out for

Additional considerations

These are some of the things you need to know when managing the shield icon:

• The shield icon is a cosmetic feature and does not impact administrative privileges.
• Group Policy settings override local user preferences and registry entries.
• In managed environments, user-based registry settings may be locked down.

Troubleshooting

If you did any of the methods above but didn’t succeed with your configurations, here are some things you should check:

• If the icon appears despite being disabled, ensure the policy or registry path is correct.
• Verify you are using Windows Terminal version 1.23.10353.0 or later.
• Restart the terminal or reboot the system to apply changes fully.
• If using Group Policy, confirm that the ADMX templates for Windows Terminal are installed.

Managing the shield icon on the Windows Terminal title bar

The shield icon in the Windows Terminal title bar is a handy visual device that indicates you’re working with administrative privileges. While this feature introduced in recent versions of Windows Terminal is helpful, some users prefer to remove the shield icon for a cleaner UI. The methods outlined above should help you remove the shield icon safely, whether through registry edits, shortcut modifications, or Group Policy settings.

Related topics:

• How to Add or Remove “Open in Windows Terminal” Expandable Context Menu in Windows 10
• How to Add and Remove Profiles in the Windows Terminal App in Windows 10
• How to Use Windows Command Prompt
• Guide to Command-Line Arguments and Best Practices
• How to Manage Windows Terminal Panes in Windows 11
• How to Open Windows Terminal in Quake Mode in Windows 11