Gone are the days when the Start menu or taskbar search is used to only find files, apps, settings, and web searches on the Windows device. Microsoft has started pushing out a new experience called Search highlights to the Search box and Start Menu search in Windows 11 and Windows 10 to show “interesting moments in time” for each day. Here is how you can disable the feature if you don’t like it.
What is the Search highlights feature?
Windows Taskbar search already shows Recent searches, Tops apps, and Quick Searches.
Microsoft aims to display fresh content daily in the Search window with Search highlights. The content includes trending searches, Microsoft rewards, and interesting moments in time.
The feature shows notable moments such as holidays, anniversaries, and other educational moments in time both globally and in your region.
Search highlights present information in search home related to that day moment, daily content like Word of the day, and more.
The left side of the Search window displays recently launched apps, files, settings, and websites.
If you’re logged into Windows with a work or school account, the search highlights will display the organizational content including suggested contacts and important documents.
Note: Search highlights require you to run Windows 11 build 22572 and higher and Windows 10 build 19044.1618 (KB 5011543) and greater. As of writing the article the feature is still rolling out to insiders.
Pros:
Search highlights are fun to check and educational from what info it brings to learn to Search home each day.
Cons:
It can also become a distraction and clutters the useful Search interface.
There are mixed reactions from Windows users to the feature.
How to disable Search highlights in Windows 11
- Click on Start and open Settings
- Click on Privacy & security
- Under Windows Permissions, click on Search Permissions
- Scroll down to More settings at the bottom and disable “Show search highlights”
This makes Windows 11 stop showing content suggestions in the Search box and search home.
How to disable Search highlights in Windows 10
- Right-click on the taskbar
- Hover over the Search menu and clear “Show search highlights“
How to disable Search Highlights in Windows 10 and Windows 11 using Group Policy
- Use Win+R to open the Run dialog and type gpedit.msc and press enter
- Click on Computer Configuration
- Select Administrative Templates
- Expand Windows Components and select Search,
- On the right pane, find and double click on “Allow Search highlights“
- Choose Disabled and click on Apply and OK.
- Close the Local Group Policy Editor
Final words: Microsoft has begun rolling out an improved search experience to Windows 11 and Windows 10 users. If you don’t want the Search interface to be bloated with unwanted trending searches and information about that day fetched and displayed by Bing, we’ve covered the instructions on how to turn off Search highlights in both Windows versions.
What’s your take on the new search experience? Have you liked and found it useful? Let us know in the comments below.
More about Windows 11:
Finally! Windows 11 gets Tabs Support for File Explorer, how to Enable
How to enable the new redesigned “Open with dialog” in Windows 11
How to make Windows 11’s Win+X menu work without crashing Explorer
How to get rid of the ‘System requirements not met’ watermark on Windows 11 Unsupported PCs
Hey Microshit!
Stop pushing these stupid shts into windows. You lost your credibility a long time ago. Anybody who likes your shts they will enable it. Why should we go through trouble of searching and disabling them??
THANK YOU for telling me how to turn this THING off!! It just started – seemingly on its own – a few days ago, and I’ve looked online for a remedy several times now. It was REALLY starting to make me feel STABBY!
There is a huge difference in quality between the images and campaigns that appear in the top — which are good and informative — and the Trending Searches, which are just drivel. I’d like to be able to remove the latter while keeping the former.
Thanks for helping me get rid of yet one more REALLY ANNOYING “feature” pushed on me by MickeySoft, unasked-for and entirely unwelcome.
THANK YOU!!!!!
This forced feature was very distracting and annoying.
Your write-up was clear and to the point, and most importantly it worked.