Windows 11 keeps a list of the files you opened lately and shows it in File Explorer, the Start menu and the menus on taskbar icons. That is handy until you share the PC or open something private. Below you can wipe the whole list, remove one entry, or stop Windows from building the list at all.
Clear the whole list from File Explorer Options
This empties the list in a single action.
- Open File Explorer, use the toolbar's see-more button (three dots), then pick Options.
- On the General tab, find the Privacy section at the bottom and select Clear.
- Select OK, then open Recent in File Explorer to confirm it is empty.
Remove one file from the Recent list
To drop a single entry, open Recent in File Explorer's navigation pane, right-click the file and choose the remove entry (it reads Remove from list or Remove from Recent, depending on your build). Only the entry disappears. The file stays where it is.
Clear recent files without turning the feature off
The Clear button wipes what is there now but leaves tracking switched on, so the list begins to fill again the moment you open another file. If you want a fresh list every so often and still want the feature, repeat the steps above whenever you need to. Sometimes the recent folders such as Downloads and Documents refuse to go after you press Clear. Restart File Explorer to refresh it: press Ctrl + Shift + Esc, locate Windows Explorer under Processes, open its context menu and select Restart.
Hide the Recent section on the File Explorer Home page
To stop File Explorer from showing recent files on Home, switch off the matching option. Unticking it stops new entries from being added. If pinned folders vanish too, the Quick access steps help.
- Press Win + R, type control and press Enter.
- Open File Explorer Options, then switch to the General tab.
- Under Privacy, clear the check box next to Show recently used files.
- Select Apply, then OK.
Turn recent files off in Settings
Windows 11 also ties the list to one switch in Settings. Turning it off hides recent items in File Explorer, in the jump lists on taskbar icons and in the Start menu's recommended area. One switch covers all three.
- Press Win + I to open Settings.
- Go to Personalization > Start.
- Turn off the switch that begins with Show recommended files in Start. On older builds the switch begins with Show recently opened items.
Stop tracking with Group Policy or the registry
These two options suit work PCs or Windows 11 Home, which has no policy editor.
- Group Policy (Pro, Enterprise and Education only): press Win + R, type gpedit.msc and press Enter. Under User Configuration, expand Administrative Templates and go into the Start Menu and Taskbar folder. Open Do not keep history of recently opened documents and choose Enabled. Run gpupdate /force in an elevated Command Prompt to apply it right away.
- Registry: press Win + R, type regedit and press Enter. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced, add a DWORD (32-bit) value named Start_TrackDocs when none exists, and give it the data 0. Restart Windows Explorer from Task Manager afterward. Setting it to 1 turns tracking back on.
Why some entries stay or come back
Signed in with a Microsoft account and using OneDrive or SharePoint? Files from those services can show in Recent too. They are pulled from your account activity rather than from this PC, so clearing the local list does not remove them. Clearing them takes a change in your Microsoft account, not in Windows. Programs such as Office keep their own recent lists, which stay untouched when you turn the Windows feature off.