When you press the Windows key and start typing in Windows 11, the operating system doesn’t just search your local hard drive for files and applications. By default, it simultaneously sends every single keystroke to Microsoft’s Bing search engine, displaying web results and trending news articles directly inside the Start Menu interface.
For power users, this is a terrible experience. Not only is it a massive privacy violation to have your local file searches broadcast to the internet, but the Bing integration also makes the Start Menu incredibly sluggish. Attempting to launch a local app often results in Windows pausing for a second to fetch a Bing thumbnail, leading you to accidentally click the wrong result. You can surgically remove Bing from the Start Menu, forcing Windows to only search your local PC.
How to Turn Off Web Search in the Windows 11 Start Menu
You must use the Windows Registry Editor to completely sever the connection to Bing.
- Click the Start button, type Registry Editor, and press Enter. (Click “Yes” if prompted by User Account Control).
- In the address bar at the top of the Registry Editor, copy and paste the following path and press Enter:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows - Right-click on the Windows folder in the left pane, select New, and then click Key. Name this new folder exactly: Explorer
- Click on your newly created Explorer folder to highlight it.
- Right-click in the empty space in the right pane, select New, and click DWORD (32-bit) Value.
- Name this new value exactly: DisableSearchBoxSuggestions
- Double-click
DisableSearchBoxSuggestionsand change the “Value data” from 0 to 1. - Click OK. Close the Registry Editor, and completely restart your computer.
After your PC reboots, press the Windows key and start typing. The Start Menu will be lightning-fast. The Bing web results, the trending news stories, and the internet delays will be entirely gone, leaving you with a blazing-fast, purely local search engine that only finds your apps and files.