- Windows 11 Search might give you the option to turn off web results
- Microsoft already places lower priority on these results, but could go even further and also remove results pointing to its store.
- This is all based on changes observed during a meeting with Windows 11 testers, but this remains a rumor for now
In what will hopefully be one of the most refreshing changes ever seen in Windows 11, Microsoft is rumored to be working on allowing users to ditch web results (and therefore Bing) from the operating system’s search feature.
Windows Latest reports that it was present at a private meeting of Windows 11 testers where Microsoft revealed that the ability to disable web results in search was incoming.
The website provides photographic evidence of the feature in an internal preview version not yet released, showing a toggle to disable web searches, and another element of search suggestions can also be disabled, namely search results for the Microsoft Store.
We’re told that these new options will be rolling out to Windows 11 testers in a few weeks, so we shouldn’t wait long before we get concrete evidence of these changes.
Analysis: spam is gone
If you’ve ever searched in Windows 11 (or 10), you’ll probably be familiar with web results that appear and get in the way of what you actually want to see (i.e. local files being displayed, or perhaps Windows settings).
Just a few weeks ago, we learned that Microsoft was deprioritizing these web results in Windows Search, meaning that as things stand, they will still be there, but will appear lower in the list than local files and other generally more relevant content.
At the time, I noted that Microsoft should give users the choice to turn off web results altogether, but noted that that seemed unlikely. So I’m very happy to see that Microsoft has (seemingly) defied my expectations and is moving forward with this option – and the choice to ditch the Microsoft Store recommendations to boot (even though these toggles should always have been in place ultimately).
This effectively gives users the choice to get rid of a lot of the “spam” in Windows 11 search, reducing it to just local results, without anything web-based being returned for a given query. It’s a great move, and indeed I’d argue it’s a key measure to get rid of unwanted promotional activity in Windows 11 (either pushing apps from the Microsoft Store or pushing web results that, naturally enough, open in Bing inside Edge, driving traffic to those Microsoft properties).
Before I get carried away here, it’s worth remembering that for now, this remains a rumor – albeit a solid one given that Windows Latest shared a photo from the meeting and new settings options. Even if this is all genuine, it’s still possible that Microsoft will backtrack on the idea – but I doubt it, especially since the company is very much in the mood to make crowd-pleasing changes to Windows 11 these days.
Fingers crossed.
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