How to Enable or Disable Search Highlights in Windows 11
Search Highlights in Windows 11 puts fun facts, trending topics, and holiday reminders right in your taskbar search box.
This feature adds extra visual content to your search experience, showing things like details about World Oceans Day or historical tidbits.
You can easily turn Search Highlights on or off to control what appears there.
Open Settings, then go to Privacy & security, and click Search. Toggle the “Show search highlights” option to On or Off. This will enable or disable Search Highlights for your account.
What Are Search Highlights?
Windows 11 search highlights add fun images and interesting facts to your Windows search bar, offering a new way to discover content without changing how you normally search for apps or files.
Even with Search Highlights on, you can still type to find your apps, files, or settings. Nothing changes about how you search normally.
When using a work or school account in Windows 11, Search Highlights can display useful organization information. This information includes files and contacts found through Microsoft Search, which helps users locate resources quickly.
Turn Search Highlights On or Off for Yourself (Using Settings)
You can quickly turn Windows 11 search highlights on or off just for your own account by using the Settings app, making it simple to customize your search experience.
- Press Windows key + I on your keyboard to open Settings.
- Click Privacy & security on the left side.
- On the right, click Search. (Click here to open Search settings directly)
- Find the option called Show search highlights.
- Toggle the switch to On to enable Search Highlights, or Off to disable it .
- Close Settings when you’re done.
Turn Search Highlights On or Off for Everyone (Using Group Policy)
For managing Windows 11 search highlights across all users on a computer, administrators can use the Group Policy Editor to turn them on or off.
Here’s how to do it:
- Press Windows key + R, type
gpedit.msc, and press Enter to open the Local Group Policy Editor. - In the left panel, go to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search
- In the right panel, double-click Allow search highlights.
- Choose one of these options:
- Not Configured – Use default settings.
- Enabled – Turn Search Highlights on for all users.
- Disabled – Turn Search Highlights off for all users.
- Click OK to save your choice.
- Close the Local Group Policy Editor.
What It Looks Like
Here are some pictures showing Search Highlights in action:
Summary
Windows 11 Search Highlights add colorful pictures and useful facts to your search bar, and you can control them through Settings or Group Policy.More Resources
For additional help with Windows 11 search highlights, you can find announcements and discussions on the Microsoft Community Hub, or get guides from Microsoft Support and technical details from Microsoft Docs.
Search for anything, anywhere – Microsoft Support
Search Policy CSP – Microsoft Docs (for IT admins)
Windows 11 Search Highlights, a feature displaying trending searches and recent activities, can now be turned on or off. Users can control Search Highlights by following the steps outlined in this guide. This control allows for a more personalized search experience.
How do I enable search highlights in 🪟 Windows 11?
To manage search highlights with Group Policy on either Windows 10 or Windows 11, locate: Edit group policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search > Allow search highlights.
How to get search highlights?
Click the Start ⊞ button and select Settings ⚙. On the left sidebar find and go into Privacy & security. Click on Search permissions. Toggle Show search highlights to enable or disable search highlights.
Was this guide helpful?
About the Author
Richard
Tech Writer, IT Professional
Richard, a writer for Geek Rewind, is a tech enthusiast who loves breaking down complex IT topics into simple, easy-to-understand ideas. With years of hands-on experience in system administration and enterprise IT operations, he’s developed a knack for offering practical tips and solutions. Richard aims to make technology more accessible and actionable. He's deeply committed to the Geek Rewind community, always ready to answer questions and engage in discussions.
No comments yet — be the first to share your thoughts!