To maintain privacy, you can delete the Search History folder in Windows. You can also re-create deleted Saved Searched in the Searches folder. Windows Search in Windows 11/10 is far improved, and it lets you locate your files and folders instantly. When we search, our searches are saved in a folder so that the next time we search for the same thing, the results appear even faster. This file of Saved Searched is in the Searches folder.
The Searches folder finds good use when:
- You don’t know where a file or folder is located.
- You want the search results to include files from more than one folder, such as Pictures and Music.
- You want to search by using more than a single file name or file property.
Where are Windows Searches stored?
The Searches folder is used to save your Explorer searches. The folder can be found at the following location:
C:\Users\UserName\Searches.
When it is of no use, the user account-specific searches folder can be deleted. However, deleting the contents of the searches folder will delete any saved search on the computer.
Read: How to Save A Search in Windows 11.
How to delete Windows Search History
To maintain privacy, if you wish to delete Windows Search History, you may navigate to the C:\Users\UserName\Searches folder and simply delete the Saved Searched file for your username.
How to re-create deleted Searches Folder
If you delete your Searches Folder in Windows 11/10, in your User Account, and would like to restore it along with the shortcut searches it had, do the following: Configure another search in the Advanced Search Options and then Save the search.
You may be thus able to re-create this folder.
Do note that the folders in the Searches Folder are Virtual, and as such do not take up any space on the hard drive.
Right-clicking on them shows the size of the actual file and the path to that file.
Can I delete File History folder in Windows 11?
File History is a backup application developed by Microsoft to copy your files stored in Libraries, Desktop, Contacts, and Favorites to the drive you select for creating a backup. You can restore the deleted files by using File History. After turning it on, it starts scanning your files in Libraries, Desktop, Contacts, and Favorites to create a backup. You will find the File History folder on the drive you selected for creating the backup. If you delete this folder, you will not be able to recover the deleted files using the File History tool. However, it is your personal choice to delete this folder.
That’s it!
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Hope someone can help. I deleted the searches as suggested in this article. My problem is that when I search via from some file extension say *.txt, I noticed that some of my previously deleted files (for eg testfile.txt) still shows up in the search. When I try to delete the file, I was prompted “Could not find this item”.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.