Windows 10 Search is an efficient in-system tool that is powered by Cortana and Bing. If you use this tool often, you’ve probably noticed that your queries also bring up web results. This means that even when you look for something local (like an app or a settings category), you will also get web search results. In short, a standard Windows Search brings up web results by default. While there is nothing particularly wrong with that, web search results can get in the way and distract you from what you are really looking for.
In today’s article, we will show you how to stop Windows 10 Search from displaying web results.
How to Disable ‘Search the Web and Windows’ on the Windows 10 Taskbar?
The fastest way to go about disabling web search in Windows 10 is by changing the taskbar’s search behavior. Here’s how to do it:
- On your keyboard, press the Win + S keys at the same time.
- Next, click the Setting gear icon.
- Here, find the option that says toggle Search online and include web results. Toggle it to the OFF position.
- With this, you will disable web taskbar search.
From now on, you should not be worried about sifting through web search results when looking for an app or a settings item.
How to Disable Internet Search Results on the Start Menu on Windows 10?
Another way to disable web search results in Windows 10 is by doing it right from the Start Menu. Here’s what you will need to do:
- Press the Start button.
- In the search field, type “cortana” (no quotes).
- Next, go to Cortana & Search settings.
- Find the switch that says Cortana can give you suggestions, reminders, alerts, and more. You should see it at the very top of the menu. When you find it, turn it off.
- Next, turn off the option that says Search online and include web results.
There you have it — you will no longer be seeing web search results in your Windows 10 search.
Naturally, this means that you are turning Cortana off — and you may miss certain conveniences that come with it. With the web search results off, you will no longer need to
dig through piles of web results before finally getting to the local search result you were aiming for.
However, if you do want to bring the “Hey Cortana” feature back, you will be able to easily turn it back on. You will simply need to repeat the steps above and then toggle the Cortana can give you suggestions, reminders, alerts, and more back on. You will also need to agree to the terms of service again and you might need to go through a quick setup procedure.
We hope the solutions above have been useful and you can now adjust Windows 10 search based on your preferences. Do you prefer to keep the web search results option on or off? Please share in the comments below.
There is just one more thing we’d like to add here. Now that you have optimized your Windows search, we would also like to share a way to optimize your whole Windows system.
If you’ve recently noted that your PC is slowing down and things are just not running as smoothly as they used to, it may be time for an upgrade. However, buying new hardware is never cheap. And software upgrades are often both pricey and time-consuming.
Fortunately, you have other options and there is a way to make your computer run faster without breaking the bank.
You can use a specialized program like Auslogics BoostSpeed. This software has been designed to give your system a performance boost by simply offloading unnecessary files burdening your system. Here’s all you need to do:
- Download Auslogics BoostSpeed from the official website.
- Install the program and launch it.
- Click the Scan Now button.
- The program will start by diagnosing your system.
- During this time, it will look for junk files and other speed-reducing issues that may be causing your system to slow down. Typically, this will include unneeded system and user temporary files, web cache, error logs, old Windows Update files, Sun Java files, cache from Microsoft Office, and more.
- You will then be able to have all these files safely removed from your system with just one click. This will free up lots of space on your PC and help you eliminate a wide range of errors and glitches.
With Auslogics BoostSpeed, you will basically be able to give your system a significant boost without investing in expensive upgrades or spending lots of time trying to remove junk files manually.
