When you search your PC, in addition to getting local results, you also get web-based results powered by Bing Search on Windows 11. But there doesn’t seem to be an easy way to disable Bing on Windows 11 if you don’t want web-based results.
Microsoft introduced Bing’s web search functionality on Windows 10 and has kept this feature on Windows 11 too. Most Windows 11 users see web search on your PC as a way for Microsoft to promote its Bing search engine, but it isn’t something that holds much value when you are searching for files that are on your PC.
Disable Bing Search on Windows 11
Unfortunately, Microsoft doesn’t provide an option in Settings to turn off Bing Search. You can turn off both options in Cloud content search in Windows Settings.
But, that doesn’t stop your PC from still displaying web-based search results. Instead, you need to make an edit to Local Group Policy Editor and Windows Registry. Here’s what you need to do.
Disable Bing Search via Local Group Policy Editor
Here’s how to disable Bing Search on Windows 11 using the Local Group Policy Editor.
1. Click the Start menu and type gpedit.msc.
2. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search in the left pane. You need to enable two policies “Do not allow web search” and “Don’t search the web or display web results in Search.”
3a. Double-click the policy named “Do not allow web search.” Set the policy to Enabled and click Apply and then click OK.
3b. Double-click the policy named “Don’t search the web or display web results in Search.” Set the policy to Enabled and click Apply and then click OK.
4. Restart your PC to apply the changes you made.
It is possible to still see web-based results after making this change in Local Group Policy Editor. If you are still seeing web-based results, you will need to make an extra edit in the Windows Registry.
Disable Bing Search via Windows Registry
Here’s how to disable Bing Search using the Windows Registry.
1. Click Start and type regedit. Accept the User Account Control (UAC) prompt that is displayed.
2. Navigate to the following location: Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search
3. Right-click Search and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name the new DWORD value “BingSearchEnabled”
5. Double-click the new DWORD BingSearchEnabled and set the data to 0 and click OK.
6. Close the Windows Registry when finished.
No need to restart your PC, you should see the change you made right away. Now when you search on Windows 11, Bing Search or “Search the web” will no longer be displayed. If you want to bring Bing Search back, just navigate to the abovementioned location in the Windows Registry and delete the DWORD “BingSearchEnabled.”
Of course, the changes described in this guide will work for a little while, at least until Microsoft releases an update making changes like this impossible.
Do you find web-based search results from Bing Search on Windows 11 helpful? Let us know in the comments.
