Windows 11 periodically changes the visual appearance of the Search box on your taskbar. Instead of a plain search icon, Microsoft pushes “Search Highlights”—colourful graphics representing holidays, historical events, or trending news topics. While some users enjoy these daily doodles, many find them distracting and prefer a clean, minimalist taskbar.
How to Turn Off Search Highlights
You can easily disable these graphics and return your search box to its default state directly from the Windows 11 Settings app.
- Right-click on any empty space on your Taskbar.
- Select Taskbar settings from the context menu that appears.
- In the Settings window, expand the Taskbar items section if it isn’t already open.
- Locate the Search option. Next to it, you will see a dropdown menu.
- If you want a plain search box without graphics, select Search box. (Alternatively, you can choose “Search icon only” to save even more space).
- Scroll further down in the settings page and click on Privacy & security in the left sidebar.
- Click on Search permissions.
- Scroll down to the More settings section at the very bottom.
- Toggle the switch for Show search highlights to the Off position.
As soon as you flip the switch, the colourful graphics will disappear, leaving you with a clean, professional Windows 11 taskbar.