Windows 11 comes with a new Start menu that drops Live Tiles in favor of traditional icons and introduces a minimalistic design. One of the main parts is the "Recommended" section that replaces Timeline and includes suggestions to pick up recently open files and installed apps.
Although it can be a handy feature to reopen certain items, it's not something for everyone. If this is your case, it's not possible to remove the Recommended section from the Start menu, but the Windows 11 Settings app lets you hide all the items you don't want to appear in the list.
In this Windows 11 guide, you will learn the steps to disable the Recommended section from showing items in the Start menu.
- How to remove Recommended section content from Start
- How to remove Recommended items individually from Start
How to remove Recommended section content from Start
To remove all the items in the Recommeded section of the Start menu on Windows 11, use these steps:
- Open Settings.
- Click on Personalization.
- Click the Start page from the right side.
- Turn off the Show recently added apps toggle switch to hide the recently installed apps.
- Turn off the Show most used apps toggle switch to hide frequent apps.
- Turn off the Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer toggle switch to clear the recent files from the list.Quick note: As you turn off this feature, the items in the Jump Lists (when you right-click the app in the Taskbar) or the Recent files section in the "Quick access" page of File Explorer will also be cleared.
Once you complete the steps, reopen the Start menu, and the Recommended section should no longer show any items.
How to remove Recommended items individually from Start
To remove specific items from the Recommended section in the Start menu, use these steps:
- Open Start.
- Right-click an item from the Recommended section.
- Select the Remove from list option.
After you complete the steps, the item will no longer be available in the list. However, the file will still be available from the location.
If you have a lot of items, you will notice a More button in the top-right corner to view the list. Withing that list, you can also right-click items to remove them as necessary.
More Windows resources
For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:
- Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know
- Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks
- Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
Mauro Huculak is technical writer for WindowsCentral.com. His primary focus is to write comprehensive how-tos to help users get the most out of Windows 10 and its many related technologies. He has an IT background with professional certifications from Microsoft, Cisco, and CompTIA, and he's a recognized member of the Microsoft MVP community.
