The Cluttered Search Menu
When you click the Search icon on the Windows 11 taskbar to quickly find a local file, you expect to see a simple, clean search interface. Instead, Microsoft completely fills the right half of the Search menu with “Search Highlights.” This massive panel displays rotating daily images from Bing, random trivia facts, trending internet searches, and advertisements for Microsoft Rewards. If you use the Search menu strictly as a utilitarian tool to launch applications or find Word documents, this barrage of internet content is incredibly distracting and visually overwhelming. You can completely strip it out.
How to Turn Off Search Highlights
You can force the Search menu to ignore Bing content via the privacy settings.
- Click the Start Menu and type Settings, or press the Windows Key + I.
- In the left-hand sidebar, click on Privacy & security.
- In the main window, scroll down to the “Windows permissions” section and click on Search permissions.
- Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page to the “More settings” section.
- Look for the master toggle switch labeled Show search highlights.
- Toggle this switch to the Off position.
A Utilitarian Interface
The change is instantaneous. Click the Search icon on your taskbar again. The massive right-hand panel displaying Bing images and trivia is completely gone. In its place, Windows simply displays a clean, static list of your “Top apps” and “Recent” files, transforming the menu back into a fast, professional, and entirely local search tool.