How to Turn Off Web Search in Windows 11 Search

Windows 11's August 2026 update adds a setting that finally lets you separate local searches from web and Microsoft Store suggestions. If you mainly use Search to open apps, find files, or reach Windows settings, turning off web results can make the panel cleaner and keep unrelated online suggestions out of your results.

The new Windows 11 Search setting changes what appears

Microsoft added the new Search controls through the August 27, 2026 preview update, KB5120998, for Windows 11 versions 24H2 and 25H2. The update adds separate controls for web searches and Microsoft Store suggestions under Settings > Privacy & security > Search. This matters because Windows Search can now be configured around what you actually want to find instead of treating web content as part of every search by default.

The change is also tied to a broader redesign of Windows Search. Microsoft says the new interface makes it easier to identify whether a result comes from an app, setting, file, web result, or Store suggestion. The update also improves how Search handles typos, partial app names, and frequently used folders. The result is less about adding another search box and more about making the existing one easier to control.

Check your Windows 11 version before changing Search

Before changing anything, check which Windows 11 release you are running. Open Settings, select System, choose About, and look under Windows specifications for the version. The August update applies to Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2, with Microsoft documenting builds 26100.9278 and 26200.9278 for those releases.

If your PC is on an older release, the Search options described here may not be available yet. The feature is also being rolled out gradually, so installing the update does not guarantee that every part of the redesigned Search interface will appear immediately. That distinction is important: the update can contain the underlying feature while Microsoft still controls when the user interface becomes active on a particular machine.

Install the August update if the Search controls are missing

Open Settings > Windows Update and select Check for updates. If KB5120998 appears under optional updates, you can install it and restart Windows when prompted. Microsoft classifies this release as a preview update, so it is not the same thing as the normal monthly security update that arrives through the regular update cycle.

There is a practical reason not to rush this step simply to get the new Search controls. Reports around KB5120998 identified problems with customized mouse cursor settings, and Microsoft confirmed the cursor personalization issue in its release health information. A separate wallpaper-reset problem has also been reported but was not confirmed by Microsoft at the time of reporting. If your PC is working normally and you do not need the new Search controls immediately, waiting for the regular release can be the more sensible choice.

Open Search privacy settings and find the new controls

Once the required update and Search changes are available, open Settings > Privacy & security > Search. Look for the section that controls suggested search results. The important part is that Microsoft separates Web searches from Microsoft Store suggestions instead of forcing them into one setting.

This gives you three useful configurations. You can leave both types of suggestions enabled, disable only web results while keeping Store suggestions, or disable both for a more local Search experience. The right choice depends on what you use the Windows Search box for. Someone who launches applications and finds documents may have little reason to receive web suggestions there, while another user may still want quick access to online results.

Turn off web results without disabling local Search

To remove web results, leave the Microsoft Store option as it is and turn off the Web searches setting. You do not need to disable Windows Search itself. Local results such as installed applications, Windows settings, and indexed files continue to work because the switch controls the online suggestions rather than the core local search system.

After changing the setting, open Search and try something that exists on your PC, such as the name of an installed application or a document. Those local results should continue to appear. Then search for something that has no matching local result. With web suggestions disabled, Windows will no longer use an online result as a fallback for that search.

Turn off Microsoft Store suggestions separately if you want local-only Search

If you want Search to stay focused entirely on the contents and settings of your PC, turn off the Microsoft Store suggestion option as well. This is different from disabling web searches because Store suggestions come from Microsoft's app marketplace rather than ordinary web results. Keeping the two controls separate means you can decide whether Store recommendations are useful to you.

With both options disabled, Windows Search becomes much closer to a local launcher and file finder. That can be useful on work PCs, machines with limited connectivity, or systems where you simply do not want online suggestions mixed with local results. The trade-off is straightforward: searches for things that are not stored or installed locally may return nothing useful.

The new Search can find apps even when you mistype them

The August update is not only about removing web results. Microsoft has also improved how Windows Search handles incomplete names and typing mistakes. For example, a search with a missing letter in an application name can still identify the intended installed app instead of treating the misspelled text as an online query.

That makes the local-only option more practical than it might sound. If Search can reliably identify installed applications and settings without sending every uncertain query to the web, you lose less functionality when web suggestions are disabled. Microsoft has also improved the way Search identifies the source of each result, so you can tell whether you are opening an application, setting, file, web result, or Store suggestion before selecting it.

Windows Search can also index frequently used folders

Another change in the update affects file discovery. Windows can automatically identify frequently used folders and index them so their contents can appear in later searches. Indexing means Windows maintains information about files in selected locations so it can find them without examining every file from scratch each time.

This is especially useful if your files are spread across locations that you regularly use. Instead of relying on web results when a local search comes up empty, the improved indexing can increase the chance that the document you actually want is found on the PC. Microsoft also documents improvements to connected and cloud-backed files, although availability can depend on how those files are configured.

Do not use ViVeTool unless you understand the risk

Some users have been using ViVeTool, a third-party utility for enabling Windows features that are present in a build but not yet activated for everyone. Reports have shown that specific feature IDs can expose the redesigned Search before Microsoft enables it through the normal rollout. That can be useful for enthusiasts, but it is not the method I would recommend for a normal Windows installation.

Feature IDs are tied to particular Windows builds and can change as Microsoft moves a feature from testing into general availability. A command that works today can stop working after another update, and enabling an unfinished feature can expose behavior that Microsoft has not enabled for every device. If the Search controls eventually arrive through Windows Update, using the supported Settings interface is the safer route.

What to do if the update causes another Windows problem

If you install KB5120998 and then notice that your customized mouse cursor has changed, check whether the update is responsible before changing several unrelated Windows settings. Microsoft has confirmed that the update can alter or revert certain cursor personalization settings. This is different from a hardware failure, so reinstalling drivers should not be the first response.

If the problem is severe and you need to return to the previous configuration, Windows provides an uninstall option under Settings > Windows Update > Update history > Uninstall updates. Removing an optional preview update also removes the changes delivered by that update, so you may lose access to the new Search behavior until a later Windows release brings it back in a corrected form.

The useful part of this Windows Search update is not simply that it looks cleaner. It gives users a choice about whether an operating-system search should also behave like an internet search. If you mostly use the Search box as a way to launch programs, find documents, and open settings, disabling web suggestions is a small change that makes the tool behave much more like that job demands.