In Microsoft Planner for the Web, how do I remove the Task Chat while in the Task?

Question

In Microsoft Planner for the Web, how do I remove the Task Chat while in the Task?

Israel Lopez 20

Task chat takes up a lot of real estate when you're trying to update your individual tasks. I often have Outlook open on the left side, searching Outlook for tasks that I have completed while Microsoft Planner is open on the right on my laptop. I search Outlook to update the 20 or so projects I mange.

The Issue: The Task chat just eats up a lot of space on a laptop if you are looking up information on one side and updating information on the other side.

The Ask: The ability to minimize Task Chat would be appreciated for those who work out of a laptop a majority of the time.

Israel Lopez 20 Reputation points

2026-05-29T02:40:27.6+00:00

Shouldn't we be able to do the same thing in the notes section. Why should we have a fixed sized Chat box that eats up space that might be used sometimes. Planner Tasks are mostly an individual task. If you want something more, wouldn't it be easier and more accessible to send an email?

Answer accepted by question author

Jade Ng 12,005 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Dear @Israel Lopez,

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and for clearly outlining how this impacts your day‑to‑day workflow. I completely understand how managing multiple applications side‑by‑side especially on a laptop can make efficient screen usage critical, and how the Task chat panel may feel intrusive when you are primarily updating task details.

At this time, in Microsoft Planner for the web, the Task chat experience is a built-in component of the task pane and cannot be removed. This design reflects recent updates where Task chat replaced the previous comments feature and is intended to support real-time collaboration directly within each task.

For reference: Microsoft Planner Update Removes Legacy Features, Adds Task Chat

Disclaimer: This link is shared by community members for your convenience. It points to a third-party site that is not managed or verified by Microsoft. We can’t guarantee the quality, safety, or suitability of any content or software found there. Please review carefully and make sure you understand any potential risks before using it.

However, if you prefer to hide it while working on task details, you can click the message icon within the task to collapse the Task Chat view.

Untitled

This can help maximize the space available for updating task information such as notes, checklist items, and other fields.

Shouldn't we be able to do the same thing in the notes section. Why should we have a fixed sized Chat box that eats up space that might be used sometimes. Planner Tasks are mostly an individual task. If you want something more, wouldn't it be easier and more accessible to send an email?

Regarding the notes section, could you please provide a more detailed explanation below your previous comment so that I can better understand it? It would also be greatly appreciated if you could include a screenshot and share it with me.

Your understanding and co-operation are highly appreciated. Thank you for your precious time. Have a nice day!

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

Israel Lopez 20 Reputation points

2026-05-29T11:38:05.3366667+00:00

Awesome and thank you. I don't know how I missed this.
Jade Ng 12,005 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-30T00:28:41.2366667+00:00

Dear @Israel Lopez,

Thank you for your response!

I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to guide you. If you encounter any other issues, please feel free to post a new question so other moderators can help, or tag me so I can continue supporting you in the future.

Thank you for your kindness and understanding.
Charles Rice 0 Reputation points

2026-06-02T20:51:40.05+00:00

So the answer is that Microsoft continues to make every piece of software worse while also removing settings? This crap takes up so much screen space for something we don't use at all, and now we have to click that hide button every single time we open a task?
Jade Ng 12,005 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-03T04:21:31.9566667+00:00

Dear @Charles Rice,

Please understand that as a forum moderator, my primary goal is to provide helpful guidance and support through general troubleshooting steps. While I completely understand your frustration, I’d also like to share that I can only assist within the scope and tools available to me. I truly appreciate your understanding of these limitations, and I sincerely hope the information I provide can still help point you in the right direction.

2 additional answers

Your answer

Israel Lopez 20 Reputation points

2026-05-29T02:40:27.6+00:00

Shouldn't we be able to do the same thing in the notes section. Why should we have a fixed sized Chat box that eats up space that might be used sometimes. Planner Tasks are mostly an individual task. If you want something more, wouldn't it be easier and more accessible to send an email?
Israel Lopez 20 Reputation points

2026-05-29T11:38:05.3366667+00:00

Awesome and thank you. I don't know how I missed this.
Jade Ng 12,005 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-05-30T00:28:41.2366667+00:00

Dear @Israel Lopez,

Thank you for your response!

I am very pleased to have had the opportunity to guide you. If you encounter any other issues, please feel free to post a new question so other moderators can help, or tag me so I can continue supporting you in the future.

Thank you for your kindness and understanding.
Charles Rice 0 Reputation points

2026-06-02T20:51:40.05+00:00

So the answer is that Microsoft continues to make every piece of software worse while also removing settings? This crap takes up so much screen space for something we don't use at all, and now we have to click that hide button every single time we open a task?
Jade Ng 12,005 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-03T04:21:31.9566667+00:00

Dear @Charles Rice,

Please understand that as a forum moderator, my primary goal is to provide helpful guidance and support through general troubleshooting steps. While I completely understand your frustration, I’d also like to share that I can only assist within the scope and tools available to me. I truly appreciate your understanding of these limitations, and I sincerely hope the information I provide can still help point you in the right direction.

Answer 1

Deleted

This answer has been deleted due to a violation of our Code of Conduct. The answer was manually reported or identified through automated detection before action was taken. Please refer to our Code of Conduct for more information.

Comments have been turned off. Learn more

Answer 2

Task chat in Microsoft Planner for the web cannot be removed or minimized independently within the task pane based on the provided information.

Task chat is a built-in part of the task experience that lets users send messages, mention teammates, and coordinate work directly within a task. Each task has a single chat thread, and messages are visible only to people who have access to the task. The documentation describes how to use Task chat (start a chat, send messages, mention teammates) but does not provide any option to hide, collapse, or resize the Task chat area within the task.

References:

Comment on tasks in Microsoft Planner

Share via

In Microsoft Planner for the Web, how do I remove the Task Chat while in the Task?

2 additional answers

Your answer