Windows Search is an integral part of the Windows operating system. Its main purpose is to help users find files and folders on the system.
Some time ago, Microsoft decided to introduce Internet search functionality to the search in Windows. Search suddenly returned local files and Internet resources. To make matters worse, Microsoft made it difficult to turn off the Internet part of search.
The Windows 11 Insider Experimental Preview Build 26300.8493 changes this, according to Microsoft:
We’ve started making changes to make Windows Search Box more relevant, starting with making it easier to find your files and apps:
Files and apps more reliably appear ahead of web suggestions when your content is a stronger match
What does it mean? Initial tests show that local results are prioritized in certain cases. When? When Windows Search computes that the local files are a stronger match.
This does not mean that Internet-based search is gone. Far from it. Microsoft adjusted the search parameters in favor of local files, but that is about it.
While that is certainly welcome for millions of users who do not know how to turn off Internet search results in Windows, as the focus shifts to local files again, critics might argue, that this is not enough, as there is still no option to turn off Internet search easily.
Don’t think I’ve ever used Windows Search; tried to find a file just now named “rattlesnake.” WS couldn’t find it; “Everything” found it in nanoseconds.
Not so hard to turn off Web Search–Group Policy Editor or the registry.
A premade reg file can be found on GitHub.
Are they finally making it easier to disable web search?
Quoting Microsoft,
“Files and apps more reliably appear ahead of web suggestions when your content is a stronger match”
How nice. I don’t know you but personally Web is one thing, local files is another. If i search for anything it’ll be either on the device either on the Web. On the PC have been using for years the ‘Everything’ software with instantaneous results; on the Web it’ll be with a browser. I know Microsoft has always been keen about mixing up everything, what is local should be considered as on a cloud, and vice-versa, the big data family so to say which makes it easier for tracking companies such as Microsoft to dig into the porridge independently of its sources: local or Web.
They can go to hell, I’ll never surrender to this vicious concept and practice. The company is hopeless, a few nice words and promises when too many get too upset and let it be known, then a tiny modification thrown to the masses as a dime would be to a beggar: what do they expect, tsunami of gratitude? Pathetic.
Turning off internet search is easy enough if you have Windows Pro. The problem of course is that Microsoft sneakily turns it back on fairly often despite the fact that I have specifically disabled that function in the group policy editor. That behavior on their part only makes me very motivated to remove any and all Microsoft apps and programs that I can get rid of without harming my system.