How to Stop Bing From Opening at Startup in Windows 11

Bing isn’t a program that starts with Windows 11. It shows up because Start menu search adds web results, or because Edge, a startup app or Windows itself opens a Bing page when you sign in. Find which one you have, then turn off that one setting.

Bing keeps showing up on your Windows 11 PC, either as web results in Start menu search or as a browser page that opens every time you sign in. These fixes use built-in Windows and Edge settings only.

Which Bing Problem Do You Have?

People describe two quite different things as “Bing opening at startup,” and the fixes don’t overlap. Match what you see to a row below, then jump to that section.

What you see	Likely cause	Where to fix it
Typing in Start or the taskbar search box shows web suggestions, and clicking one opens a Bing results page	Web results in Windows Search	Bing Web Results in Start Menu Search
Edge opens to Bing or a Bing-powered news page right after you sign in	An app set to run at sign-in, or Edge’s own startup settings	Startup apps, Edge startup pages
Edge comes back with the same tabs you had open before you shut down	Windows or Edge restoring your last session	Restartable apps, “Continue where you left off”
Bing is the search engine in Edge’s address bar	Edge’s search engine setting	Change the Search Engine Edge Uses

If more than one row fits, work through them in order.

Bing Web Results in Start Menu Search

When you type in the Start menu or the taskbar search box, Windows Search can send your query to the web and mix web results in with your apps, files and settings. That’s why a search for a file name can end up opening a Bing page in Edge. Microsoft calls this behavior web results in Search, and it is controlled separately from your browser.

What the Search Permissions Page Can and Can’t Do

Tips online often say to turn off Cloud content search under Start > Settings > Privacy & security > Search permissions. Microsoft’s page on Windows Search and privacy describes that switch as controlling results from OneDrive, Outlook and other Microsoft account content, not Bing web results, and SafeSearch only filters adult content. On Windows 11 Home and Pro there is no Microsoft-documented Settings switch that turns off web results in Start; the supported off switch is a policy, covered next.

Some versions of Windows 11 also show a Show search highlights switch here. Microsoft’s Search policy page (linked below) says turning search highlights off removes them from the Start menu search box and search home; it doesn’t describe it as turning off web results.

Turn Off Web Results With Group Policy (Enterprise and Education)

Microsoft’s Search policy documentation lists a policy named Don’t search the web or display web results in Search. When it’s enabled, Search doesn’t send queries to the web and doesn’t show web results. The same page lists the supported editions as Enterprise, Education and IoT Enterprise, and marks Pro as not supported. Pro has the Group Policy Editor, but Microsoft marks this policy as not supported there, and Home has no Group Policy Editor.

If your PC runs Enterprise or Education and you’re an administrator (on a work or school device, ask IT first):

1. Press Windows key + R, type gpedit.msc and press Enter.
2. Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Search.
3. Double-click Don’t search the web or display web results in Search.
4. Select Enabled, then OK.

5. Restart the PC, then type something in Start to check that only local results appear.

To undo it, set the same policy back to Not Configured. Microsoft notes that when the policy isn’t configured, the user can choose whether Search uses the web.

The Registry Value Behind That Policy

The same Microsoft page names the registry value the policy writes. It has the same edition limits, so on Home or Pro it may have no effect.

Before you edit anything: a wrong change in the Registry Editor can cause problems with Windows. Create a restore point first, or in Registry Editor select File > Export to save a backup of the key you’re about to change.

1. Press Windows key + R, type regedit and press Enter, then select Yes at the permission prompt.
2. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows. If there’s no Windows Search key under it, right-click Windows, choose New > Key and name it Windows Search.
3. Select Windows Search, right-click the right pane and choose New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name it ConnectedSearchUseWeb and leave its value at 0 (0 means web queries and results aren’t allowed; 1, the default, allows them).
5. Restart the PC.

To reverse it, delete the ConnectedSearchUseWeb value and restart. You’ll find other registry values passed around online for hiding Bing in Start. Microsoft doesn’t document them, several stopped working after Windows updates, and they’re left out here for that reason.

Turn Off the App That Opens Bing at Sign-In

If a Bing page appears on its own a few seconds after you sign in, something is launching it. It could be Microsoft Edge, a Bing-branded app (a wallpaper or search app, for example), or another Microsoft app that opens web content. Names vary, so look for anything you don’t remember choosing to run at startup.

1. Select Start > Settings > Apps > Startup.
2. Find Microsoft Edge or any Bing-related app in the list.
3. Turn its switch Off. The change takes effect the next time you sign in.

Task Manager shows the same list with more detail. Right-click Start, choose Task Manager, open Startup apps, then right-click an entry and select Disable, as described on Microsoft’s page about configuring startup applications.

Shortcuts can also sit in your Startup folder. Press Windows key + R, type shell:startup and press Enter. If you see a shortcut to a Bing page or to Edge there, delete the shortcut (not the app). For more on which entries are safe to turn off, see managing startup programs in Windows 11.

Stop Edge From Opening a Bing Page

Sometimes Edge isn’t starting by itself, but every time you open it, it lands on Bing. That’s Edge’s startup setting. Microsoft’s Edge help on managing startup settings gives these labels:

1. In Edge, select the three dots (…) in the top-right corner, then Settings.
2. Choose Start, home, and new tabs in the left pane.
3. Under When Edge starts, pick Open the new tab page, Continue where you left off or Open these pages.

4. If you chose Open these pages, remove any Bing address in the list and select Add a new page to enter the site you want instead.

For more examples, including opening the tabs from your last session, see opening Edge to a specific page.

Stop Edge From Running in the Background at Sign-In

Two Edge features start Edge processes when you sign in to Windows, even if you haven’t opened a window. Microsoft’s policy pages describe startup boost, which keeps Edge ready to open faster, and background mode, which keeps Edge apps and extensions running after you close the last window. Both are set on the same Edge settings page.

1. Type edge://settings/system in Edge’s address bar and press Enter to open Edge’s system settings.
2. Turn off Startup boost.
3. Turn off the option for continuing to run background extensions and apps when Edge is closed.

4. Close Edge and restart the PC.

The exact wording of these switches can change between Edge versions, so look for the one that mentions startup and the one that mentions running in the background. If a switch is grayed out with a note that your organization manages it, a policy controls it and only your administrator can change it.

Stop Windows From Reopening Edge After a Restart

If Edge returns with exactly the tabs you had open when you shut down, Windows may be restoring it. Microsoft’s January 2025 update notes name the setting:

1. Select Start > Settings > Accounts > Sign-in options.
2. Turn off Automatically save my restartable apps and restart them when I sign back in.

If Edge’s own startup choice is Continue where you left off, it will also bring back your last tabs, so check both settings. Fast startup isn’t the cause: Microsoft says it still closes all apps and signs you out before saving the Windows kernel to disk (more in turning off fast startup in Windows 11).

Change the Search Engine Edge Uses

If what you dislike is Bing answering searches you type into Edge’s address bar, change Edge’s search engine. Go to Edge Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Search and connected services > Address bar and search, and pick another engine under Search engine used in the address bar. The exact steps, plus Chrome and Firefox, are in changing the search engine on Windows 11.

This setting belongs to Edge only. It doesn’t change the web results in Start menu search, which are covered by the Windows Search policy above.

Check That It Worked, or Put It Back

• Startup apps: restart, sign in and wait a minute. If no Bing page opens, you’re done. To undo, turn the app’s switch back on.
• Edge startup page: close every Edge window, then open Edge. To undo, choose a different option under When Edge starts.
• Background and startup boost: after a restart, check the hidden icons area at the right end of the taskbar. Microsoft says background mode shows an Edge icon there, so it should be gone. Turn the switches back on if Edge now feels slow to open.
• Web results policy: type a word like “weather” in Start. With the policy on, you shouldn’t get web suggestions.

If Bing Keeps Coming Back

• The app isn’t in Startup apps. Check the shell:startup folder and Edge’s own startup settings. Microsoft’s startup page also lists Run keys in the registry where some apps register themselves; leave those alone unless you know the entry.
• The setting is grayed out. A work or school device can lock Edge and Search settings through policy. Ask your IT team rather than working around it.
• Web results still show on Home or Pro. That’s expected, since Microsoft lists Pro as not supported for the web results policy and Home has no Group Policy.
• It’s actually Copilot. If the window that opens is Copilot rather than a Bing page, see how to disable Copilot in Windows 11.

Questions About Bing in Windows 11

Can I uninstall Bing?

No, because Bing is a web search service, not an app on your PC. You can uninstall separate Bing-branded apps from Settings > Apps > Installed apps, but the search results in Start and Edge are controlled by the settings and policy covered above.

Will changing my default browser stop Bing in Start search?

Not reliably. Your default browser decides which browser opens links, but Microsoft documents the web results in Search as a separate Windows feature with its own policy.

Is it safe to turn off startup boost?

Yes. Microsoft describes startup boost as a way to make Edge open faster. Turning it off only means Edge may take a little longer to appear the first time you open it after signing in.

Does the web results policy hide my local files from Search?

No. Microsoft’s description says it stops web queries and web results only. Apps, settings and indexed files still appear in Start search.

If Bing still appears after all of these, note exactly when it shows up and match it to the table at the top again.