How to disable ‘Recommended’ in Windows Search on Windows 10

Microsoft tends to like recommending its stock apps to users on Windows 10. You’ll see these recommendations in lots of places, e.g., share menus, when you change the default app, and in Windows Search. Normally, the share menus and the default app suggestions aren’t that much of a problem since they’re not used/accessed as often, but Windows Search is where it gets annoying.

In Windows Search, if you enter Chrome, it will find the Chrome browser, but it will also suggest Edge. Here’s how you can turn it off.

Disable ‘Recommended’ in Windows Search

To disable the ‘Recommended’ section in Windows Search, you need to edit the Windows registry, and to do that, you need admin rights on the system.

1. Tap the Win+R keyboard shortcut to open the run box.
2. In the run box, enter ‘regedit’, and tap Enter.
3. Once the registry editor is open, go to the following key.

Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer

4. Look for a value called DisableSearchBoxSuggestions. If the key isn’t there, you’re going to have to create it. Right-click the Explorer key and select New>DWORD (32-bit) Value.
5. Name the value DisableSearchBoxSuggestions.
6. Double-click DisableSearchBoxSuggestions and set the value in the data box to 1.
7. Right-click the taskbar, and select Task Manager from the context menu.
8. Go to the Processes tab and look for Windows Explorer.
9. Select Windows Explorer, and click Restart at the bottom left.
10. Once Windows Explorer restarts, you can use Windows Search, and the recommended apps section will be gone.

This has been tested on Windows 10 2004, and it works. It might not work on older versions of Windows 10. If you’re trying to get rid of suggestions in the Windows Search on older versions, look for solutions for that specific version. If you’re having trouble with this on Windows 10 2004, you should also turn off suggestions in the Start Menu.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Go to the Personalization group of settings.
3. Select the Start tab.
4. On the Start tab, turn off the ‘Show suggestions occasionally in Start’ option.
5. Restart Explorer.exe.

Conclusion

Microsoft is very aggressive with its suggestions; you’ll see them in the Start menu, the share menu, if you visit Microsoft’s website in a browser that isn’t Edge, etc. While it may make sense to suggest a stock app to users, it gets annoying and takes away from the user experience. A simple off switch would have been a good idea. The registry edit will work now, but there’s a chance that it’s patched in a later version.

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Fatima Wahab

Fatima has been writing for AddictiveTips for six years. She began as a junior writer and has been working as the Editor in Chief since 2014. Fatima gets an adrenaline rush from figuring out how technology works, and how to manipulate it. A well-designed app, something that solves a common everyday problem and looks

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