- To disable web search in Start on Windows 11, open Group Policy (gpedit.msc)> User Configuration> Administrative Templates> Windows Components> File Explorer, open and enable the “Turn off display of recent search entries in the File Explorer search box” policy.
- Alternatively, open the “HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows” path in the Registry, create the “DisableSearchBoxSuggestions” key, and set it to “1.”
On Windows 11, it’s possible to disable web results when searching through the Start menu or Search box in the Taskbar, and in this guide, we’ll show you how.
Whenever you search for anything using the Windows Search box or Start menu, if the system can’t find a match for a document, picture, video, setting, or app, you will get a list of web results suggestions from Bing. If you click one of the links, the page will open in Microsoft Edge.
Although this is a helpful feature, it’s not for everyone, and the problem is that Windows does not provide an option to disable the feature. However, turning off the web suggestions using the Group Policy Editor or Registry is possible.
In this guide, you will learn the steps to disable web results in the Search box and Start menu on Windows 11.
- Disable search web results from Group Policy on Windows 11
- Disable search web results from Registry on Windows 11
Disable search web results from Group Policy on Windows 11
If the device is running Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education, the easiest way to turn off search suggestions is by using the Group Policy Editor to enable the policy that disables the feature.
To disable web searches in the Start menu and Search on Windows 11 from Group Policy, use these steps:
Open Start on Windows 11.
Search for gpedit and click the top result to open the Group Policy Editor.
Browse to the following path:
User Configuration> Administrative Templates> Windows Components> File Explorer
Double-click the “Turn off display of recent search entries in the File Explorer search box” policy.
Select the Enabled option.
Click the Apply button.
Click the OK button.
Restart the computer.
Once you complete the steps, when using Windows Search from the Taskbar or Start menu, you will no longer see web results.
If you want to revert the changes, you can use the same instructions outlined above, but on step No. 5, make sure to select the Not Configured option.
Disable search web results from Registry on Windows 11
If you use Windows 11 Home, the Group Policy Editor won’t be available, but you can still disable the feature using the Registry Editor.
Warning: It’s very important to note that modifying the Windows Registry can cause serious problems if not used properly. It’s assumed you know what you’re doing and that you have created a full backup of your system before proceeding.
To disable web results from the Registry on Windows 11, use these steps:
Open Start.
Search for regedit and click the top result to open the Registry Editor.
Browse to the following path:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows
Right-click the Windows key, select the New menu, and choose the Key option.
Name the key Explorer and press Enter.
Right-click the newly created key, select the New menu, and choose the “DWORD (32-bit) Value” option.
Name the DWORD DisableSearchBoxSuggestions and press Enter.
Double-click the newly created key and change its value from 0 to 1.
Click the OK button.
Restart the computer.
After you complete the steps, when searching from the Taskbar or using the Start menu, Windows 11 will no longer show web results, only results for files, apps, and settings.
If you want to revert the changes, open the Registry, and in the HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindowsExplorer, right-click the DisableSearchBoxSuggestions DWORD and select the Delete option.
Source: Pureinfotech
