Because this functionality is enabled or disabled by Microsoft on the server side. Well, easy come, easy go – and the user can't do anything about it. Here I find but (at least on the quick) in the options no more option to show a search bar.
On a Windows 11 computer I just looked for interest: The whole thing is strange – today the icon disappeared again – but the settings are unchanged ? There are also screenshots of the new (different) icons.Īddendum:We are now one day older – and Werner has now followed up with the fourth email.
How to turn off search highlights in Windows 10?
Now the open question remains: Who else has these icons in their Windows 10 search box?Īddendum: I've found now two additional sources at the English Microsoft Answers forum, where the feature has been mentioned: The icons can be hidden with a right click and the context menu command Show search highlights (see context menu above). Where do these icons come from and how can they be disabled? There, a Windows 10 user posted the following text on April 26, 2022. In a third e-mail Werner posted me this reference in the German Microsoft Answers forum, which he came across. At, registry entries to disable them are also described. Microsoft describes in this Techcommunity post how to configure the Search Highlights in the search box using group policies. A screenshot with similar icons can be found there. Microsoft described the whole thing as "Search Highlights" on the Windows blog. Microsoft's Search HighlightsĪnd then I got it with the context menu command mentioned above. There is a similar option for search under Windows 11 – and Microsoft announced the backport to Windows 10 – Windows Insiders were able to test this with Windows 10 version 21H2 starting with build 19044.1618. This option may be used to hide the icons or show them again. The context menu entry marked with a red arrow says Show search highlights. But Werner wrote the following in a second mail:īut the colleagues do not have the choice at all A short search on the Internet initially didn't really brought me any further. The reader (who contacted me) can't really make sense of these icons and their functionality and I really didn't a clue.
My guess was that Microsoft is testing a new functionality (a back port from Windows 11 search) and is running an A/B test with selected users. Is Microsoft running an A/B test with search? But since the icons are displayed in the search box, it must have some other meaning (now it's clear, it has something to do with search highlight). I myself didn't realize at first quick glance that it's not a notification in the taskbar status area (I would have guessed application icons).
The arrow in the above screenshot points to the newly appeared icons. I have a new icon next to or rather in the search bar of Windows 10 since today: The user contacted me because he suddenly gets new icons like a triangle, a pencil and an olive branch (I'll just call it that) displayed in the search box in the Windows 10 taskbar. New Search Highlights icons in Windows 10 search box contacted me via email and brought an issue to my attention, that I have not encountered before.