How to disable web search on Windows 10 version 1803

On Windows 10, search has become more than just a feature to find apps and files, it’s a tool to find anything as well as to search the web. While search results can enhance the experience to get things done on Windows 10, it’s not a feature for everyone, as many users prefer the search experience like the one available on Windows 7.

If search results in the Start menu aren’t for you, it’s possible to modify the Registry to disable web search on Windows 10 version 1803 (April 2018 Update). However, be aware that usually Microsoft changes the way web searches works and enables the feature again once you install a new version of the OS. This means that the workaround outlined in this guide, may stop working in the next feature update.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the steps to disable web search on Windows 10 running the April 2018 Update.

How to disable web search results on Windows 10

If you want to disable web search result when using search box in the taskbar, do the following:

Warning: It’s very important to note that modifying the Windows Registry can cause serious problems if not used properly. It’s assumed you know what you’re doing and that you have created a full backup of your system before proceeding.

Open Start.
Search for regedit, right-click the top result, and select Run as administrator.

Browse the following path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search

Double-click the CortanaConsent key.
Set the key value from 1 to 0.

CortanaConsent regedit
Click the OK button.
On the left pane, right-click the Search (folder) key, and select New, and click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Search regedit
Name the new key AllowSearchToUseLocation, press Enter, and leave its default value of 0.

AllowSearchToUseLocation regedit
On the left pane, right-click the Search (folder) key, select New, and click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the new key BingSearchEnabled, press Enter, and leave its default value of 0.

BingSearchEnabledand regedit

Browse the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows

Right-click the Windows (folder) key, select New, and click on Key.

Windows Search key regedit
Name the key Windows Search and press Enter.
On the left pane, right-click the Windows Search (folder) key, and select New, and click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the new key ConnectedSearchUseWebOverMeteredConnections, press Enter, and leave its default value of 0.
On the left pane, right-click the Windows Search (folder) key, and select New, and click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the new key AllowCortana, press Enter, and leave its default value of 0.
On the left pane, right-click the Windows Search (folder) key, and select New, and click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the new key DisableWebSearch and press Enter.
Double-click the newly created key and change its value from 0 to 1.

DisableWebSearch regedit
On the left pane, right-click the Windows Search (folder) key, and select New, and click on DWORD (32-bit) Value.
Name the new key ConnectedSearchUseWeb, press Enter, and leave its default value of 0.

After completing the steps, restart your computer to complete disabling web search on Windows 10. However, remember that using these instructions also completely disables Cortana, as the assistant relies on the web.

At any time, you can revert the changes to enable web search and Cortana using the same steps, but on step No. 5, make sure to change the key value to 0. On step No. 8, right-click the AllowSearchToUseLocation key and select Delete. On step No. 10, right-click the BingSearchEnabledand key and select Delete. On step No. 11, right-click the Windows Search key and select Delete to delete all the remaining keys. Finally, restart your device to apply the changes.