Windows 11 Disable web search results from start menu

MD 101

How can I disable web search recommendations from the start menu search bar? There is no need for web search results there. That search should return local files and applications. This appears to be nothing more than Microsoft trying to force traffic to Bing at the expense of user functionality within the OS.

Fred Leonard 10 Reputation points

2023-08-04T06:02:20.22+00:00

I couldn't agreed more. 100% spyware. I had to block bing and bingapi on my router to disable the spyware in Edge. Even using google as the search engine, edge redirects every search and URL to bing. I'm now using Brave, and much happier.
Dave76 5 Reputation points

2023-08-29T21:30:00.4133333+00:00

I just had to install Start11 to get rid of Microsoft's bastardized start menu. Every time I instinctually started typing to quickly launch an application, the start menu would freeze/lag for several seconds as it pulled up search results from the web or hard drives that are spun down/sleeping. If I wanted to search the web, I'd open a browser. If I wanted to search files, I'd open explorer. When I want to search installed applications, I open the start menu. I don't want or need a unified search that is worse at all of the above. It's no surprise, Microsoft is also sunsetting the built-in (and problematic) mail client, sending people to ad-sponsored Outlook instead. So I'm no longer using Microsoft's start menu or Microsoft's mail client.. at this rate, one has to wonder what the value proposition is for a Microsoft OS......
Mike Gunther 20 Reputation points

2023-10-03T16:13:08.2933333+00:00

Just wanted to add that this is still an issue and makes the Start Menu useless.

6 answers

AsciiWolf 0 Reputation points

2024-11-22T23:52:10.12+00:00
I was wondering how such privacy sensitive feature can even be legally always on, however I did found in other discussion that it should be possible to actually turn this off in an user friendly way:

Go to Settings.

Select Privacy & Security.

Choose Search Permissions.

Scroll down to Web Search.

Set "Web Search from Microsoft Bing" to Off.

I have not tested it yet though.
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Brian Bergin 36 Reputation points

2024-12-24T14:02:20.5+00:00

There is no such option under “Privacy & Security, Search permissions”.
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Windows 11 Disable web search results from start menu

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