Here’s How to Turn Off Those Annoying Images In Your Windows Search Bar

Last night , I was clean out my one C drive on myWindows 10PC , as you do , and decided to re-start when I was all done . After putting off a series of Windows updates for the retiring few week because I did n’t want to go through the agonizing , 10 2nd long cognitive process of a restart , I think this would be a keen opportunity to get my OS up - to - particular date . But when I log back in , I found that my Windows search bar now had these deuced , unasked for donut images clogging it up . Microsoft call them “ Search Highlights . ”

For everyone favorable enough to be on Mac right now , the Windows search bar is kind of like the personal computer version of Spotlight . you may do web searches with it , but I mostly use it to find programme or file on my microcomputer . It ’s a tool I truly bed , because it means I do n’t have to bog down down my desktop with a bunch of shortcuts . But because there ’s that web search functionality , Microsoft keeps adjudicate to swot it in wherever it can .

hover over or clicking on my search bar ’s raw pastry dough paraphernalia lastly told me what the heck it was doing all over my otherwise clean , Final Fantasy - ified background . manifestly , it ’s national donut day , a vacation of such grandness that Microsoft has kindly obturate a bunch of tiles that lead to donut tie in Bing lookup results into my dear hunting Browning automatic rifle ’s consequence box .

Who put these donuts in my search bar?

Who put these donuts in my search bar?Screenshot: Michelle Ehrhardt

accept toTwitter , I quickly learned that I was n’t the only person with this problem , but I could n’t find any of my esteemed fellow in the press who had covered it . I do n’t even know how long this attack at aping Google ’s doodle has been plump on , since I was late to the update party . AMarch poston Microsoft ’s forums indicates that a phase rollout for this “ hunt high spot ” lineament began last month , but judging by social sensitive , I ’m not the only soul just now encountering it .

How To Get Rid Of The Windows Search Bar Images

To mail those donuts — or any other future emoji fashion menaces — to the shadow realm , you ’ll need to decent penetrate on your taskbar . Then , loom over hunt , and toggle off show search highlights . you may also toggle off the search bar feature entirely here and break it to being a simple icon that can get to the same functionality with either a click or a quick tap of the Windows keystone . I tend to forget about the feature article unless the box is really there , so I ’ve forget mine on .

Getting rid of the emoji style images in your hunting bar will also stop any Bing hunting tiles from showing up in your search window , and your most - used apps will show up there instead , along with some less intrusive text - based Bing search prompts .

It ’s an well-situated location , and you could repeat a similar process to get rid of any stemma marketplace or weather alert if you ’ve been stupefy those , as well ( just mighty click your taskbar , go to news and interests , and click turn off ) . But one would go for Microsoft would be beyond pushing this variety of cutesy interaction on its users , especially after the debacle of thelive tilesit introduce with Windows 8 .

I don’t even have an air fryer!

I don’t even have an air fryer!Screenshot: Michelle Ehrhardt

While these cutoff can be useful or fun for some , they also take up a tidy sum of screen real estate and can be distracting , which is n’t ideal for a productivity focalize OS . Windows 10 still has live tile capableness , but I keep as many of their features as possible toggle off at all times . In general , Microsoft ’s recent update have done a much better job respecting these taste than Windows 8 or Vista did , which is why I was surprised to see this kind of cutesiness worm its agency back onto my desktop without consent .

Maybe this is Microsoft ’s way of let me know it ’s time toupgrade to Windows 11 . It could be that the company ’s going to keep trying to make fetch happen until I do , although that March post from sooner does say that Windows 11 user will finger my sinker hurting shortly . link me in hell , fellow Homer Simpsons .

For more tips and trick in Windows 10 — and guides for the inevitable upgrade to Windows 11 — hold back out Gizmodo’sHow Tosection .

Donuts, begone!