Windows 10: How to clear or disable Taskbar Search Box History in Windows 10

If you do not want the Search box on your Taskbar to display the History of your searches, then this post will help you. Microsoft allows its users to be able to make use of both the Start menu and the Taskbar to make searches on Windows 10. Although they both use the same search component, their interface and offerings differ a bit. On the one hand, you find installed programs enlisted in the Start menu, while the search window on the Taskbar showcases the apps that are most frequently used by you on the top, with the most recent searches below it on the left and a quick access menu to the weather or important news on the right.

While some users might find the recent searches that the search bar displays useful, since it allows them to go revisit those topics quickly and conveniently, that may not be the case for all. Others may find it intrusive, in case any sensitive information was searched for and someone else was able to look at it from the search history section. If you belong to the latter group, this post is for you. Today we will discuss how you can disable the search history of the Taskbar search box in Windows 10.

Disable search history of the taskbar search box in Windows 10


Users should note that here, we will be demonstrating how the search history setting displayed on the taskbar search box can be disabled permanently. There is an option for you to remove individual searches too, without getting rid of the feature altogether.

In order to do so, users simply have to drag their cursor to the search entry that they want to remove and click on the ‘X’ icon to the right of the entry. As you will notice, removing a search entry will add a previous entry to the recent searches list. For e.g., if you remove the first entry, the other entries will move up a slot and a new previously searched entry will be found at the bottom.



In order to disable the search box’s search history setting, you have to follow the steps below.

1. Search for your Windows settings in the taskbar search box or directly open them using the Windows +’I’ shortcut key.
2. In the search bar on top of the settings window search for Permissions & History.
3. Scroll down to the history sub-head.
4. Toggle off the option that says store the Search history of this device.
5. If you want to delete the search history that has been cataloged by your computer to date, you can click on the Clear device search history button.
6. If you choose to reactivate this feature at a later date and not clear your existing history, then you will see those searches again.

You can now close your settings page and open the search box to find that the section where the search history used to appear previously has now disappeared and below the Top apps section are the Quick searches.



We hope that you will now be able to easily disable search history on your taskbar’s search box. The picture above is an example of how the search field menu is going to look once the search history has been disabled.

This way, you can prevent your search activities from being tracked and synced by your Windows 10 computer.


This article How to clear or disable Taskbar Search Box History in Windows 10 first appeared on TheWindowsClub.com.

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How do disable search history in file explorer?

Hello, I was wondering how do I completely disable the search history in the search box in file explorer? I found this guide, but this is for erasing only. Clear File Explorer History in Windows 10 Windows 10 Customization Tutorials

I want to completely disable the search function. Windows 8 had this option: Search Suggestions in File Explorer - Enable or Disable in Windows 8 but it didn't work for Windows 10.

Thank you!

 

File explorer search history is not clearing


Hi

I have gone through all the steps in the following thread, but my file search history is not clearing or updating. Search terms clear, but the old search reappears with deleted files on it.

Search History in File Explorer - Clear in Windows 10 - Windows 10 Forums

Any help would be appreciated.

 

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