By default, the Windows 11 taskbar features a prominent “Search” box sitting right next to the Start button. While Microsoft intends for this to be a quick way to find files and web results, many users find it completely redundant. Why? Because you can perform the exact same search by simply clicking the Start button (or pressing the Windows key on your keyboard) and immediately starting to type. If you want to reclaim that valuable taskbar space for your actual application icons, you can easily hide or shrink the search box.
How to Hide the Taskbar Search Box
Windows 11 provides built-in customization options for the taskbar, allowing you to remove the search feature without needing any third-party tweaking software.
- Right-click anywhere on an empty, blank space on your Windows 11 taskbar.
- A small pop-up menu will appear. Click on Taskbar settings.
- This will instantly open the Settings app directly to the Personalization > Taskbar page.
- Look at the very top section titled Taskbar items.
- Locate the Search option. Next to it, you will see a drop-down menu (it will likely say “Search box”).
- Click the drop-down menu. You now have several choices:
- Hide: Completely removes the search feature from the taskbar.
- Search icon only: Shrinks the massive box down to a single, small magnifying glass icon.
- Search icon and label: A middle-ground option that shows a small pill-shaped icon with the word “Search”.
- Select Hide (or your preferred smaller option).
The change applies immediately; you do not need to restart your computer. The large search box will vanish, shifting all your pinned apps to the left and giving you a much cleaner, minimalist desktop experience.