- Windows 11 Search may allow you to turn off web results
- Microsoft already gives these results a lower priority, but can go even further and also remove results that point to its store
- All of this is based on changes seen in a meeting with Windows 11 testers, but it remains a rumor for now
In what will hopefully be one of the most refreshing changes yet visited on Windows 11, Microsoft is rumored to be working on letting users drop web results (and therefore Bing) from the search function of the operating system.
Windows Latest reports that it was present at a private meeting with Windows 11 testers where Microsoft revealed that the ability to turn off web results in search was coming.
The website provides photographic evidence of the feature in an internal build not yet released as a preview, and shows a toggle to turn off web searches, and another element of search suggestions can also be turned off, Microsoft Store search results.
We’re told that these new options will be rolling out to Windows 11 testers in a few weeks, so we shouldn’t have long to wait before we get concrete evidence of these changes.
Analysis: spam began
If you’ve ever run a search in Windows 11 (or 10), you’ll no doubt be familiar with web results that pop up and get in the way of what you actually want to see (namely local files that show up, or perhaps Windows settings).
Just a few weeks ago we heard that Microsoft is deprioritizing these web results in Windows Search, which means that as things stand with the current plan, they will still be present, but will appear further down the list than local files and other generally more relevant content.
At the time, I noted that Microsoft should allow users to turn off web results entirely, but noted that this seemed unlikely. So I’m very happy to see that Microsoft has (reportedly) defied my expectations and is actually moving forward with this option – and the choice to drop Microsoft Store recommendations to boot (although these switches should always have been in place when it comes down to it).
This effectively gives users the choice to get rid of a lot of “spam” in Windows 11 search, cutting it back to local results only, with nothing web-based returned for any given query. It’s a great move, and I’d actually argue that it’s key to getting rid of unwelcome promotional activity in Windows 11 (either pushing Microsoft Store apps or web results that naturally open in Bing inside Edge, driving traffic to those Microsoft properties).
Before I get carried away here, it’s worth remembering that this remains a rumor – albeit a solid one, as Windows Latest shared an image of the meeting and new settings options. Even if all this is real, there’s always the possibility that Microsoft could reverse course on the idea – but I doubt it, especially given that the company is very much in the mood to make crowd-pleasing changes to Windows 11 these days.
Fingers crossed.
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