The Windows 11 search can find apps, files, and folders on your PC and get information from the web.
The Windows 11 search box or search bar, once in a while, might display ads or content suggestions that most computer users do not like to see.
In addition, ads or content suggestions also appear in the search home. If you are not sure what the search home is, it is nothing but the flyout that shows up when you click on the search box.
The search home, by default, shows recent search queries on the left side and information/news on the right side. The same search home occasionally shows advertisements.
Not all users like advertisements or content suggestions on their computers. If you are also one of them, luckily, Microsoft offers a way to turn off content suggestions, including ads, on the search home.
It’s worth noting that you cannot turn off only ads in search home. You need to turn off all types of content suggestions.
When you turn off content suggestions, the search home will not show any news or ads in the search home. Instead, it shows recent searches, most used apps, and shortcuts to access various pages of the Settings app.
Complete the directions below to turn off or disable Windows 11 search advertisements.
Turn off ads in Windows 11 search
Step 1: Open the Settings app using search or Windows logo + I hotkey.
Step 2: In the left pane of Settings, click Privacy & Security. Now, on the right side, click Search permissions.
Step 3: Scroll down the page to see the More settings section. Here, turn off the Show search highlights option to remove news, information, and advertisements from Windows 11 search home.
As said earlier, there is no option to turn off only advertisements without removing news and information.
Jeff says
Thanks you for your article, which I appreciate. The comments that follow are not a reflection on you or the article.
Yet another example of little respect MSFT has for its customers. I’m sure that no one really wants to see ads when the search for a file or folder, yet now they are jammed down your throat in an effort to find perhaps one in a hundred users who click on the ad squeezing a little more out of its customers. It is disgusting particularly since the software is a SUBSCRIPTION I ALREADY PAID FOR! It is hard to put into words how much I hate this practice. And yes, after 25 years, I think I’ll get a Mac.