Is it possible to add a DeskBand (or similar) to the Notification Area in Win 10/11?

Question

I've been looking into ways for an app to add a custom DeskBand (or something similar) to the Windows 10 & 11 taskbar:

There are various references to IDeskBand2 and other taskbar extensions, but I'm getting conflicting information[2] as to whether DeskBand is simply deprecated, or is actually no longer supported, for example, Microsoft says:

You should use thumbnail toolbars in new development in place of desk bands, which are not supported as of Windows 7.

...but thumbnail toolbars require that you hover over a taskbar button before they are visible. That's not the same as an always-visible area on the taskbar.

Is there no official (non-hacky) way to create something like the "Screen Time" example above for Windows 10/11?

Can anyone shed light on this?

---

[2]: Here's an example where Microsoft implies that it's not supported after Windows 7.

Senna

The quoted text does not appear in the linked documentation, nor do I see any implication that Deskbands are not supported. See the Deskbands heading, where it explicitly states that Thumbnails are not intended to replace Deskbands, and you may still wish to use Deskbands, along with a caveat about Aero. – Nicole

There's a C# example here (I have not tested it) github.com/navhaxs/media-control-deskband – Bosun

@Nicole - quoted text is here, in the IDeskBand2 documentation: learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/api/shobjidl/… – Senna

@Nicole - from the linked documentation: "In Windows 7, deskbands can still be implemented and thumbnail toolbars are not intended to replace them all." – Senna

@ScottSmith and yet, the OTHER linked documentation says: "You should use thumbnail toolbars in new development in place of desk bands, which are not supported as of Windows 7", just as the OP originally stated. So, there is a conflict of information posted on MSDN (this not the first time that has been pointed out: Are deskbands still supported? (Custom taskbar interfaces)). DeskBands ARE deprecated, even if they still "work" for now. – Bernicebernie

@RemyLebeau - Yeah, after re-reading both pages for the umpteenth time, I realized that it doesn't actually say that DeskBands don't work in later Windows versions. My original take was also based upon lots of posts in various places from people saying it was/wasn't available... Thanks for the sample! – Senna