How to disable web search in the Windows 10 taskbar

Windows 10 comes with a new feature called "Cortana". It is a digital assistant which is integrated with Windows 10. Windows 10 has a search box in the taskbar, which can be used to launch Cortana and perform the search by keyboard or by voice. Once you type something in the search box on the Windows 10 taskbar, search results show but web search results are mixed with local search results, Store apps and content from Bing. If you would like to disable internet and Store apps being searched from the taskbar, here is how to turn it off.

Update #4: Windows 10 version 2004, 20H2, and above use a different tweak.

1. Open the Registry Editor app.
2. Go to the following Registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer. See how to go to a Registry key with one click. If this path is missing, then create the missing parts manually.
3. On the right, create a new 32-Bit DWORD value DisableSearchBoxSuggestions. Note: Even if you are running 64-bit Windows you must still create a 32-bit DWORD value.
4. Set its value data to 1.
5. To make the changes done by the Registry tweak take effect, you need to sign out and sign in to your user account.

To save your time, you can download the following ready-to-use Registry files:

Download Registry Files

Update #3: In Windows 10 version 1803, the tweaks mentioned below may not work. If you are affected by this issue, apply the following Registry tweak:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search]
„BingSearchEnabled“=dword:00000000
„AllowSearchToUseLocation“=dword:00000000
„CortanaConsent“=dword:00000000

Update #2: In Windows 10 version 1607 the option to disable Web Search and Cortana was removed again!

You can disable it quickly with the following Registry tweak:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Search]
"AllowCortana"=dword:00000000
"DisableWebSearch"=dword:00000001

That's it!

Update #1: In Windows 10 version 1511, there is an option in Cortana preferences, which will allow you to disable the Web search in taskbar.

To disable it, do the following:

1. Click the Search box in the taskbar. The Cortana pane will appear on the screen:
2. Click the gear icon to open its settings:
3. Turn off the option "Search online and include web results" as shown above.

That's it. This will disable web search in the Windows 10 taskbar:

The alternative way using Group Policy is described below.

To disable Bing search and Store apps from showing up in the search results in the Windows 10 taskbar, you need to do the following:

1. Press Win + R shortcut keys together on the keyboard to open the Run dialog. In the Run box, type the following:

   gpedit.msc

   

2. Go to the following path:

   Computer Configuration->Administrative Templates->Windows Components->Search

3. Enable the following Group Policies:
   • Do not allow web search
   • Don't search the web or display web results in Search

Once you have done this, you need to reboot your PC. After the reboot, the search box in the taskbar will be limited to local results only:

The search will work without any lags and much faster than before. The search pane will also open instantly. A side effect of this change is that Cortana will not work anymore:

Personally, I never used Cortana, so for me it is not an issue.
That's it.

Support us

Winaero greatly relies on your support. You can help the site keep bringing you interesting and useful content and software by using these options: