Windows 11 does not document a dedicated switch that removes only Microsoft Store app suggestions from Windows Search while leaving search itself working. The settings Microsoft does document control app-launch personalization, search highlights, web results and suggestions, the Search interface, or access to the Store app. None of them is described as a Store-only filter, so this guide explains what each control actually changes, how to change it, and where each one stops.
The documented controls at a glance
The table below lists the controls Microsoft documents that touch Search or the Store. Only the last column answers the question most readers are asking, and every row is “No”.
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| Control | Where it lives | What Microsoft documents it affecting | Store-suggestion-only? | Edition or version note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches | Settings > Privacy & security > Recommendations & offers | Start and search personalization based on apps you launch | No | Not stated on the cited Microsoft Support page |
| Allow search highlights (AllowSearchHighlights) | Search Policy CSP | Search highlights on Search home and in the Windows 11 Start search box | No | Pro, Enterprise, Education, and IoT Enterprise; Windows 11 22H2 and later, with a 21H2 update also listed in Microsoft’s table |
| Web results and suggestions (EnableWebResultsSetting) | Set-WindowsSearchSetting in PowerShell | Web results and suggestions, described in general terms | No; not described as Store-specific | Not stated in the PowerShell reference, which was displayed in its Windows Server 2025 view |
| Web search policy (DoNotUseWebResults) | Search Policy CSP | Whether Search can query the web and display web results | No | Enterprise, Education, and IoT Enterprise; not listed for Pro |
| Disable Search (DisableSearch) | Search Policy CSP; Start policy settings | Search UI entry points, including the Start search box and taskbar Search button | No; removes Search access rather than filtering results | Pro, Enterprise, Education, and IoT Enterprise; Windows 11 22H2 or later |
| Deny access to the Microsoft Store app | Group Policy and CSP settings for the Store | Access to the Store app itself | No; affects the Store app, not Search suggestions | Not stated on the cited Microsoft Learn page |
Changing the settings
Change one control at a time and test the Start search box after each change. That makes it clear which control, if any, altered the results you see.
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- Open Start and select Settings.
- Select Privacy & security, then Recommendations & offers.
- Turn off the setting labeled “Let Windows improve Start and search results by tracking app launches.”
Microsoft’s own description is that “Windows can personalize your Start menu based on the apps that you launch,” so this control shapes which apps Start and search surface based on your usage. It does not promise to remove Store listings. The same page also has “Show me suggested content in the Settings app,” which Microsoft describes as affecting Settings content, not Start or Search results. Source: Microsoft Support, Privacy settings for Recommendations & offers in Windows 11.
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Search highlights
The Search Policy CSP defines “Allow search highlights.” Setting it to disabled turns off search highlights on Search home and in the Start search box. It is a policy, so apply it through your management tool using the Policy CSP – Search documentation. Microsoft does not describe it as a control over Store app suggestions.
Web results and suggestions
Microsoft’s Windows Search PowerShell reference documents a setting that excludes web results and suggestions from Windows Search. To check the current state, run:
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Get-WindowsSearchSettingTo turn web results and suggestions off, run:
Set-WindowsSearchSetting -EnableWebResultsSetting $FalseSetting the same parameter to $True reverses the change. The reference describes this setting broadly, so do not expect it to remove Store listings while leaving other suggestions in place. It also documents a separate metered-network setting, which is not a Store filter either. Reference pages: Get-WindowsSearchSetting and Set-WindowsSearchSetting.
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Disabling Search entirely
The DisableSearch policy hides the Start search box and the taskbar Search button. That ends Store suggestions in Search only because it ends Search. It is a blunt tool, not a selective remedy, and it removes the search you may still want. Microsoft’s Start policy settings page covers the Start-related policies.
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Blocking Microsoft Store access
Group Policy and CSP settings can deny access to the Store app. That changes the Store app itself, not what Search displays. Microsoft also notes that Store apps continue to update automatically by default even when Store access is blocked. See Configure access to the Microsoft Store app for Windows devices.
Choosing an approach
- You want fewer personalized app suggestions: turn off app launch tracking in Recommendations & offers. Expect changes to Start and search personalization, not a guaranteed removal of Store results.
- You want no web results or suggestions in search: use the PowerShell setting, accepting that it is general and not limited to the Store.
- You want search highlights gone on a managed device: apply the Search Policy CSP setting after checking your edition and version.
- You want Search and the Store both intact: no documented setting removes only Store suggestions. The current Microsoft documentation does not offer a supported way to do that.
Community reports and workarounds
Microsoft Q&A users report the same problem. One asked, in English, “How to disable app store suggestions encroaching on my Windows Search bar?” and another asked in Russian how to remove Microsoft Store suggestions from Windows search. Those threads include proposed workarounds, but they are community posts, not Microsoft documentation of a Store-specific policy, so they do not confirm that any workaround is supported or durable across Windows updates. See the Microsoft Q&A thread on Store app suggestions in the Windows Search bar.
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