How to Disable or Enable Recent Search History in Windows 10 & 11

By Timothy Tibbetts

on 08/28/2022

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Windows Search uses recent search history to speed up the search results by showing you anything similar you searched for recently. You can enable or disable this feature if you want.

You can disable or enable Recent Search History in Settings or using our registry files.

How to Disable or Enable Recent Search History in Windows 10 & 11 - Settings

Our registry files simplify the process.

Download Disable or Enable Recent Search History in Windows 10 & 11 from MajorGeeks and extract the two files.

Double-click on Recent Search History - DISABLE.reg or Recent Search History - ENABLE.reg (Default).

Click Yes when prompted by User Account Control.
Click Yes when prompted by Registry Editor.
Click OK when prompted by the Registry Editor.

This tweak is included as part of MajorGeeks Windows Tweaks, and donations to the project and MajorGeeks are accepted here.

How to Disable or Enable Recent Search History in Windows 10 & 11 - Settings

Click on Start > Settings or press the Windows Key + I.

Click on Privacy & security on the left.

Click on Search permissions on the right.

Scroll down and uncheck Search history on this device.

If you like the search history feature, but want to clear the saved history, click on Clear device search history.

Similar:

How to Reset Windows Search in Windows 10 & 11

How to Enable, Disable, or Clear Your Taskbar History in Windows 10 & 11

How to Delete and Rebuild the Windows 10 & 11 Search Index

Enable or Disable Enhanced Mode for Windows Search

How to Show or Hide the Search Box or Search Icon in Windows 10 & 11