The Redundant Box
By default, Windows 11 places a massive, pill-shaped “Search Bar” directly in the middle of your Taskbar, right next to the Start button. This giant box consumes a massive amount of horizontal screen real estate. This is highly redundant because the Windows Start button already has search built-in: if you simply press the physical Windows key on your keyboard and start typing, the search engine activates instantly. For power users who rely on keyboard shortcuts and want to maximize the number of open applications they can fit on their Taskbar, the visual search box is completely useless and must be removed.
How to Hide the Search Bar
You can completely strip the search box from the Taskbar via the Personalization settings.
- Right-click anywhere on an empty space on your Taskbar and select Taskbar settings.
- In the Settings window that opens, look at the very top section labeled Taskbar items.
- Locate the Search drop-down menu.
- Click the drop-down box and change the selection from “Search box” to “Hide” (or “Search icon only” if you prefer a tiny magnifying glass).
Reclaimed Space
The change is instantaneous. Windows 11 will completely terminate the visual rendering of the search box, instantly freeing up a massive chunk of horizontal space on your Taskbar. The underlying search indexer remains fully active; you can still find all of your files and applications by simply clicking the Start Menu (or pressing the Windows Key) and immediately typing your query.