How to Disable Windows Search Web Results and Clutter

Clean up your Windows 11 taskbar search by disabling web integration, trending searches, and personalized content in the Registry.

  1. Open the Group Policy Editor. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter to launch the Local Group Policy Editor.
  2. Locate the Search policy folder. In the left-hand sidebar, navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search. Select the Search folder to display the policy list in the right pane.
  3. Disable web search results. Locate the policy named 'Do not allow web search'. Double-click it, select 'Enabled', and click 'Apply'. This stops Windows from sending your search queries to Bing.
  4. Disable search highlights. Locate 'Turn off display of search highlights' in the same list. Double-click, set to 'Enabled', and click 'Apply'. This removes the trending content and iconography from the search interface.
  5. Restart the Windows Explorer process. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager. Locate 'Windows Explorer' in the process list, right-click it, and select 'Restart'. The changes will take effect immediately upon reboot of the UI shell.

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