How to Enable or Disable Microsoft Store Suggested Apps in Start Menu Search

Is the Start menu or Windows search showing suggested Microsoft Store apps? Here’s how you can enable or disable it via Settings and the Registry.

When you open the Start menu or Windows search by clicking the search icon on the taskbar and search for something, such as an app, the search results prominently show suggested Microsoft Store apps. Clicking those results either opens the Microsoft Store app or installs the app directly and opens it automatically.

In the vast majority of cases, these suggested Microsoft Store apps are not useful and often bloat search results. So, if you don’t like them, you can disable the Store app suggestions in search via the Settings app or the Registry. Of course, if you think you need or want to reverse the process, you can just as easily enable it.

In this Windows 11 guide, I will show you how to enable or disable Microsoft Store suggested apps in Windows search. Let’s get started.

Enable or Disable Microsoft Store Suggested Apps in Start Menu or Windows Search Using Settings

1. Open Settings with “Windows key + I”.
2. On the sidebar, go to the “Privacy & security” tab.
3. Click the “Search” option.
4. Click and expand the “Show suggested search results” section.
5. Turn OFF the “Microsoft Store” toggle.
6. Close the Settings app.
7. Restart your computer.
8. After restarting, you will no longer see suggested apps from the Microsoft Store in Windows Search.

To enable suggested apps in Windows Search, turn ON the “Microsoft Store” toggle under “Show suggested search results” on the “Search” page.

Important note: If you don’t see the “Show suggested search results” option on the “Search” page, this feature isn’t available on your computer yet. You can try updating Windows 11 to the latest version, or wait for Microsoft to roll out the feature on your system.

Enable or Disable Microsoft Store Suggested Apps in Start Menu or Windows Search Using Registry Editor

Important note: Editing the registry requires administrative rights. Additionally, before proceeding, please back up the registry.

1. Open the Run dialog with “Windows key + R“.
2. Type “regedit” and click “OK“.
3. Go to the “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SearchSettings” folder.
4. Right-click the “SearchSettings” folder on the sidebar.
5. Select “New” and then “DWORD (32-bit) Value“.
6. Name the value as “IsStoreSuggestionsEnabled“.
7. Double-click the “IsStoreSuggestionsEnabled” value.
8. Ensure its Value Data is set to “0“.
9. Click the “OK” button.
10. Close the Registry Editor.
11. Restart your computer.
12. After restarting, you will no longer see suggested apps from the Microsoft Store in Windows Search.

Enable suggested Store apps in Windows search: If you want to see the Microsoft Store suggested app in the Start menu and Windows search, follow the same steps as above, but change the Value Data from “0” to “1” in step 8, then restart your computer.

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That is all. Whether you follow the Settings or Registry method, turning Microsoft Store suggested apps in Windows search and the Start menu search on or off is pretty simple and easy. If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.