Google is still the most popular search engine in the world, but this hasn’t stopped Microsoft from forcing its own search engine Bing on Windows users. The search box in the Windows 11 start menu shows Bing search results by default, but you can turn this off.
In Windows 11 you can quickly search the internet by pressing the magnifying glass icon in the start menu. You will immediately see a search bar, which you can use to search via Bing. If you don’t want to use Microsoft’s search engine, for example because you don’t want the company looking over your shoulders or because you only want to search for local files, you can disable it.
backup
For that you have to dive into the Windows registry. Keep in mind that it is a powerful component that has a major impact on the operation of Windows and the computer. Always have a backup your precious data and Windows. In an emergency, you can always revert to the backup.
Disable Bing
From the Windows start menu, search for the Registry Editor. In the window that opens you will find: Computer a folder HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Double click on the folder and go to Software / Policies / Microsoft / Windows / Explorer. Right click anywhere in the window New and then on DWORD (32-bit) value. Name this value DisableSearchBoxSuggestions.
Double click on it and under Value data change the 0 in a 1. Bing should now be disabled after restarting your computer and logging back in.
Other way
If you’re still seeing Bing results, there’s another way to disable Microsoft’s search engine. Go back to the registry and go to the folder HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionSearch. If you can’t find the folder itself, you can copy and paste the entire path into the registry search box. In the folder, right-click again and choose New and after that DWORD (32-bit) value. Now name the value BingSearchEnabled along.
Check if at Value data a 0 by double clicking on the value. In the same folder you also need to turn off Cortana with a double click on CortanaConsent. Also make sure that the value is 0 state. You see CortanaConsent are not in the folder, you can create the value in the same way as we described earlier in this article.
Turn Bing back on
Success? If all goes well, Bing will no longer work directly in the start menu. You can then only search for local files in the start menu.
If you regret your choice, you can easily turn Bing back on. Go to the registry and change the value data from BingSearchEnabled and CortanaConsent from 0 nasty 1.
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