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Key Takeaways

To remove Bing from the Windows 10 Start Menu, open the Registry Editor (RegEdit), then paste "Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer" into the address bar. Right-click empty space in the right pane, then create a new DOWRD (32-bit) named "DisableSearchBoxSuggestions" and set the value to 1.

Windows 10, by default, sends everything you search for in the Start Menu to their servers to give you results from Bing search --- so you better make sure that you don't type anything private into your own PC's Start Menu. Or, you could just disable the Bing integration in the Start Menu.

How to Disable Bing in the Start Menu in Windows 10

Starting with Windows 10's May 2020 Update, there's a new registry setting that controls this option. You must edit the Windows registry to disable web searches in the Start menu.

The Registry Editor is a powerful tool and making the wrong change can make your system unstable or even inoperable. This is a straightforward change and, if you follow the instructions, you should be fine. But if you've never used it before, consider reading about how to use the Registry Editor. We always recommend backing up your Registry (and your computer) before making changes.

To start, open the Registry Editor by clicking Start and typing "regedit" into the search bar. Double-click the "Registry Editor" shortcut that appears (or press Enter) and click "Yes" to the UAC prompt.

Search "Regedit" in the Start Menu.

Navigate to the following key using the left pane. You can also copy-paste the following address into the Registry Editor's address bar and press Enter:

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

If you do not have the "Explorer" subkey under "Windows," create it before continuing.

Viewing the Explorer subkey in the registry editor

Create a new DWORD value by right-clicking inside the empty space in the right pane and pointing to New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.

Creating a DWORD in the registry editor

Name the value "DisableSearchBoxSuggestions". Double-click it and set its value data to "1".

Disabling Bing search in the Start menu via the registry

You must restart your computer, log out and log back in again, or at least restart Windows Explorer for your change to take effect.

Download Our One-Click Registry Change to Disable Bing

If you're not comfortable making Registry changes yourself, we've created two downloadable files you can use. One file disables web searching from the Start Menu, and the other file will re-enable web searches. Both are included in the following zip file, and each just functions by changing the values we demonstrated how to change above. Double-click the one you want and click through the prompts.

Download Disable Bing in Start Menu hacks

You'll probably see a warning that these files may be dangerous, and that warning is fair — REG files can be dangerous. However, we made these ourselves and can verify their safety. Additionally, you can open them yourself in any plain text editor to confirm that they only create (or modify) the DWORD we described in the previous section.