Windows 10 v1903 has separated Cortana and Windows Search. The search looks a lot better, but it still shows Bing web search results in the results. Usually when using Windows 10 computer, many don’t like this. In this post, we will share how easily you can disable Bing web search results in Windows 10 Start Menu.
Disable Bing web search results in Windows 10 Start Menu
The method which we will use below contains steps that explain to you how to modify the registry. Make sure to create a restore point before going ahead.
Earlier, changing setting on Cortana and modifying group policy used to work correctly. However, since Cortana is separate from Windows Search, you cannot use them anymore. Instead, you will need to change the registry settings to disable the web search result from appearing.
Open Registry Editor by pressing Windows + R in combination, typing ‘regedit’ in the ‘Run’ dialogue box and hitting ‘Enter’.
Navigate to the following path:
[HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionSearch]
Change the value of two DWORD keys to 0
-
- BingSearchEnabled
- CortanaConsent
The chances are that you will not see the BingSearchEnabled DWORD key. It did not exist in my registry. So I created it.
- Right click on the right pane when you are in the Search folder.
- Click on New > DWORD 32-bit
- Name the key as BingSearchEnabled
- The default value is zero, but doable to open, and make sure it is zero.
Exit the registry editor, and click on the search button on the taskbar. You should not see the Web section here or when you type. Usually restart is not required, but you can choose to do so if the changed doesn’t reflect.
This will disable Cortana as well. So if you have plans to use it, then there is no other way around. I have tried changing settings one by one, but it doesn’t work. They both should have the same value.
Group Policy configurations are not working for now
It is interesting to note that even though Group Policy configurations are available, but they don’t seem to be disabling Bing web search results. The settings are:
- Don’t search the web or display web results
- Do not allow web search
Honestly, Microsoft should either remove Bing search or give users an option which will enable them to turn it off. Editing Registry works, but then it’s still a little dangerous for novice users.