- Click “Search” in your Windows 11 task bar.
- Select the three dots in the top-right corner of the the search dialog and choose “Search Settings.”
- Turn off the “Show Search Highlights” option.
Windows 11 promotes a lot of content like birthdays and trending searches with flashy icons in the Search pane. If you’d rather keep this area free of such suggested content, disable the Search highlights feature using one of many ways on your PC. Here’s how.
What Are Search Highlights in Windows 11?
Search highlights are the content you see on the right-hand pane when you access your PC’s Search function. While some users may find this content relevant, others may want to disable it to free up that space.
The content you see on this pane include the birthdays of some famous people, anniversaries, trending searches, Microsoft Rewards, and more. Themed icons will often appear in your search bar to match the topic. If you don’t find these items useful, turn the feature off, and you won’t see any content.
RELATED: How to Search Quickly on Windows 11
How to Disable Search Highlights on Windows 11
To remove Search highlights from your Windows 11 PC, use one of the four methods described below. Each method achieves the same result, so feel free to use any method you like.
Using Search Settings
One easy way to get rid of Search highlights is to use an option on the Search pane itself.
To access it, open Windows’ Search feature by selecting “Search” in your taskbar. In the Search panel’s top-right corner, select the three dots and choose “Search Settings.”
On the page that opens, scroll down to the “More Settings” section. Here, turn off the “Show Search Highlights” option.
And that’s it. Your Search highlights are now gone, and you won’t see search bar icons anymore.
From Settings
Another way to turn off Search highlights is by using your PC’s Settings app.
To use this method, open Settings by pressing Windows+i. In the app’s left sidebar, click “Privacy & Security.” On the right pane, choose “Search Permissions.”
Scroll down the open page to the “More Settings” section. Here, toggle off the “Show Search Highlights” option.
RELATED: 11 Windows 11 Privacy Settings to Change
Using Local Group Policy Editor
If you’re running Windows 11’s Pro, Enterprise, or Education edition, use the built-in Local Group Policy Editor tool to disable Search highlights.
To use the method, open your “Run” dialog box by pressing Windows+R. In the box, type the following and press Enter:
gpedit.msc
In the Local Group Policy Editor tool, using the options given in the left sidebar, navigate to the following path:
Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search
Once you’re at the above path, on the right pane, double-click the “Allow Search Highlights” entry.
In the open window, at the top, choose “Disabled.” Then, at the bottom, click “Apply” followed by “OK.”
And you’ve successfully disabled Search highlights on your PC.
Using Registry Editor
If you can’t use the above methods to turn off Search highlights, use this Registry Editor method that tweaks an entry in your Windows registry to disable the feature. Note that you should only use this method if you’ve tried all of the above methods and they for some reason don’t work. An accidental change in your PC’s registry can make your entire system unusable, so proceed with caution.
To use this method, open the “Run” box using Windows+R. In the box, type the following command and press Enter:
regedit
In the “User Account Control” prompt, click “Yes.”
In the Registry Editor tool, using the options on the left, head to the following path:
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SearchSettings
On the right pane, double-click the “IsDynamicSearchBoxEnabled” entry.
In the open box, click the “Value Data” field and enter “0”. Then, choose “OK.”
Close Registry Editor, and your Search highlights feature is now disabled.
And that’s how you get rid of an unwanted feature on your Windows 11 system. Happy using your PC!
