How to disable web search results on Windows 11

When you search in the Windows 11 Start Menu, you don’t just get local results from your files and apps—you also get web results powered by Bing. If you find this annoying, unnecessary, or privacy-invasive, you can disable web search results completely.

In this guide, I’ll show you how to stop Windows 11 from showing web suggestions when you search, using a simple registry tweak.

🧠 Why Disable Web Results in Search?

• Avoid cluttered search results
• Improve local search speed
• Increase privacy (no Bing data sent)
• Reduce distractions when searching apps or files

⚠️ Note Before You Start

You’ll be editing the Windows Registry, so back it up before making changes.

🛠 Method: Use Registry Editor to Turn Off Web Search

Step 1: Open Registry Editor

1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and hit Enter.
2. If prompted by UAC, click Yes.

Step 2: Navigate to the Search Settings

Go to this location:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

If the Explorer key doesn’t exist, right-click on Windows, choose New → Key, and name it Explorer.

Step 3: Create a New DWORD Value

1. Inside the Explorer key, right-click in the right pane and select:

New → DWORD (32-bit) Value

2. Name it:

DisableSearchBoxSuggestions

3. Double-click it and set the Value data to:

1

Click OK.

Step 4: Restart Your PC

Once the change is applied, restart your computer or sign out and back in. Web search results will now be gone from the Start Menu search.

✅ Revert the Change (If Needed)

If you want to enable web search again later:

1. Go back to the same Registry key.
2. Set DisableSearchBoxSuggestions to 0
   —or—
   Delete the value entirely.

🔒 Extra Tip: Disable Bing in Group Policy (Pro Editions Only)

If you’re running Windows 11 Pro, you can also do this via Group Policy:

1. Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, press Enter
2. Navigate to:

Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Windows Components → Search

3. Double-click “Do not allow web search” → Set to Enabled
4. Also enable:
   • “Don’t search the web or display web results in Search”

Apply changes and restart.

Final Thoughts

Disabling web search in Windows 11 helps clean up your Start Menu, speeds up searches, and protects your privacy. It’s easy to reverse if you change your mind later, and takes less than 5 minutes to do.