On Windows 10, the search box is located in the taskbar to give you quick access to search and interact with Cortana (although this is changing with version 1903), but it takes a lot of valuable space that you can be using to pin other apps.
However, if you would like to make the search box smaller or remove it completely from the Windows 10 taskbar, there’s an option to do this.
In this guide, you’ll learn the easy steps to remove the search box from the taskbar on Windows 10.
How to remove Search from taskbar
If you’re looking to remove taskbar search box element to make more room to pin more apps, use these steps:
- Right-click the taskbar.
- Select the Cortana option.
- Select the Hidden option or any of the available options:
- Hidden: Removes the Cortana and search box from the taskbar, but you can still open the Start menu and start typing to open experience.
- Show Cortana icon: Shows an icon instead of a search box. Clicking the icon will open the experience to start your search.
- Show search box: This is the default option that shows the search box in the taskbar.
- Hide Cortana from the taskbar
After completing the steps, the search box will no longer appear in the taskbar giving you more space to pin more apps.
Right-click the taskbar.
Select the Cortana option.
Select the Hidden option or any of the available options:
- Hidden: Removes the Cortana and search box from the taskbar, but you can still open the Start menu and start typing to open experience.
- Show Cortana icon: Shows an icon instead of a search box. Clicking the icon will open the experience to start your search.
- Show search box: This is the default option that shows the search box in the taskbar.
Hide Cortana from the taskbar
Update February 13, 2018: This guide has been updated to make sure it’s current with the latest version of Windows 10.
