Instructions for Hiding Files and Folders in Windows 10 Search

Instructions for Hiding Files and Folders in Windows 10 Search is easier to understand when the core ideas are paired with practical examples. The sections below explain the topic clearly, highlight useful steps, and point out details that can prevent common errors.

In Windows 10, the Cortana box or Windows Search item can help you search all files and folders in your computer. However, if you don't want others to view certain files or folders, you can hide them in Windows search results. Let's see how to hide a folder so it doesn't appear in the search results of File Explorer, Cortana or Search item in the taskbar!

Hide Files and Folders from Search results in Windows 10

To start, click the Cortana or Search icon on the Taskbar and type indexing options . Then, click Indexing Options in the results that appear.

Modify Included Locations

Included Locations are listed in the Indexing Options dialog box. To hide these files and folders, click Modify.

All folders displayed in the search item are included in the Change selected locations box in the Indexed Locations dialog box.

To search for the folder you want to hide, click the arrow next to Local Disk (C:) or another hard drive.

In the directory tree, navigate to the folder you want to hide and uncheck the box next to that folder.

Note: You can only hide files by unchecking the folder containing the files. So, if you want to hide a specific file in the folder that contains many other files, move the file to a new folder. Or you can create a folder containing all the files to hide.

The folder you unchecked will be added to the User folders in the Summary of selected locations section.

Click OK.

Rebuild the index

Now, we need to rebuild the index to exclude the selected folders.

Go back to the Indexing Options dialog box and click Advanced.

Note: The folder you selected is hidden listed in the Exclude column in the Indexing Options dialog box.

You need administrative rights to access advanced indexing options. So, update your account password if required.

In the Indexing Options window, click Rebuild in the Troubleshooting section.

Note that index rebuilding can also fix problems with Windows search.

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