How to Disable Windows Search Web Results and Clutter

Step by step

1. 1 min

   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.

   Note: This tool is not available in Windows Home edition.
2. 1 min

   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. 1 min

   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. 1 min

   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. 1 min

   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.

   Note: If changes do not appear, restart your computer.