How to Remove Search from Taskbar in Windows 11

If you don’t use or like the taskbar Search option, you can remove it. Here’s how to remove Search from the taskbar in Windows 11.

After installing Windows 11, you first notice the new taskbar and its centered Start menu. The other thing you should see is the redundant Search icon. Now, as with all the older versions, you can directly search from the Start menu. You don’t have to click the Search icon.

For instance, I rarely use the taskbar Search icon. I just use the Start menu to search for apps and files.

In recent versions (insider & dev builds), Microsoft is trying to highlight the Search icon by adding a white background or increasing the overall width of the search icon. This is a waste of space on the taskbar for most users.

Like me, if you don’t use or like it, you can remove Search from the Taskbar. The good thing is that the Taskbar Settings provide a simple way to remove the Search icon. All it takes is a few clicks, and you are good to go.

Without further ado, let me show you how to hide or remove Search from the taskbar in Windows 11 operating system.

Table of contents:

• Remove the search icon on the taskbar from Settings
• Use the registry to remove the taskbar search icon

Remove the search icon on the taskbar from Settings

The taskbar settings give you a single-click option to remove the search icon. To remove the taskbar search icon, you should turn off the Search option on the taskbar settings page. Let me show you where to find the option and how to modify it.

1. Right-click on the taskbar.
2. Choose “Taskbar Settings.”
3. Expand the “Taskbar items” section.
4. Turn off the “Search” option.
5. With that, the Search icon is removed from the taskbar.

Steps with more details:

First, we must open the taskbar settings page. Right-click on the taskbar and choose the “Taskbar settings” option.

Expand the “Taskbar items” section on the Taskbar Settings page. Next, turn off the “Search” option.

As soon as you do that, the Search is removed from the Taskbar. You can safely close the Settings window.

Use the registry to remove the taskbar search icon

If the Settings app method does not work or you need an alternate method, you can use the Registry. When you edit the registry to remove the Search icon from the taskbar, it is the same as changing the taskbar settings. Let me show you how.

1. Use “Win + R” to open Registry.
2. Type “regedit” and click “Ok.”
3. Go to the following folder in the Registry.
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search
4. Double-click on the “SearchboxTaskbarMode” value.
5. Type “0” in the Value Data field.
6. Press the “Ok” button.
7. Close the Registry Editor.
8. Reboot Windows.
9. With that, the Search icon is removed from the taskbar.

Steps with more details:

First, open the Registry Editor. You use the “regedit” run command (win + R) or search for “Registry Editor” in the Start menu.

Go to the following folder in the Registry Editor. To makes things quick, paste the following path in the address bar and press Enter.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Search

Once you are in the folder, double-click on the “SearchboxTaskbarMode” value. As you can guess, this value is responsible for showing or hiding the search icon on the taskbar.

Since we want to hide the search icon on the taskbar, type “0” in the Value Data field. Press the “Ok” button to save changes.

To end it, close the Registry Editor and reboot Windows to apply the registry changes.

After rebooting, you will no longer see the search icon. i.e., the search icon is removed from the Windows 11 taskbar.

–

That is all. It is that simple to remove the search icon from the taskbar in Windows 11.

I hope this simple Windows how-to guide helped you.

If you are stuck or need some help, send an email, and I will try to help as much as possible.