How To Clear Recent Documents List on Shutdown in Windows 11 & 10

To protect your privacy, you can force Windows to clear the recent documents list on shutdown. Here’s how to configure it.

By default, Windows keeps track of all the documents you open and displays them in the Recent Documents section and jump list. This allows you to quickly and easily open a recently or frequently opened document without having to navigate through drives and folders unnecessarily.

While it is helpful to have a dedicated feature to display all your recent documents, it can also be a privacy issue under certain circumstances. For example, if you share your system’s user account with other users (which is very common on family PCs), they can also view the documents you’ve opened or are currently working on.

Thankfully, on both Windows 11 and Windows 10, you can configure the system to automatically clear the Recent Documents list upon shutdown. That way, you don’t have to manually clear the list every time. In this quick guide, I will show you the exact steps to enable this feature. Let’s get started.

Before You Start

• Administrator rights are required to configure Windows to automatically clear the recent documents list.
• Before making changes, please create a system restore point. It helps you restore the system to a known good state if something goes wrong.
• The steps below have been tested to work on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Clear Recent Documents List on Shutdown Using Group Policy Editor

Note: Group Policy Editor is only available on Windows Pro and Enterprise editions. If you are using the Home edition, follow the Registry method (second).

1. Open the Start menu by pressing the “Windows key”.
2. Search for “Edit Group Policy” and click “Open“.
3. Open the “User Configuration” folder.
4. Go to the “Administrative Templates” > “Start menu and Taskbar” folder.
5. Double-click the “Clear history of recently opened documents on exit” policy.
6. Select the “Enabled” option.
7. Click the “OK” button.
8. Close the Group Policy Editor.
9. Restart your computer.
10. From now on, Windows will automatically clear the recent documents list upon shutdown.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, we must open the Group Policy Editor. To do that, open the Start menu by pressing the “Windows key” on your keyboard. Next, search for “Edit Group Policy” in the Start menu and click the “Open” option.

Once the Group Policy Editor has been opened, you will see a bunch of folders on the left panel under two different sections. Go to the following location by expanding the folder tree.

User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar

After opening the “Start Menu and Taskbar” folder, find and double-click the “Clear history of recently opened documents on exit” policy in the right panel.

This action opens the policy configuration window. Here, select the “Enabled” option and click the “OK” button to save the change.

Finally, close the Group Policy window and restart your computer. After restarting, Windows will automatically delete the recent documents list when you shut down the system.

In the future, if you want Windows to display the recently opened documents, follow the same steps but select “Disabled” or “Not Configured” options in the policy configuration window.

Clear Recent Documents List on Shutdown Using Registry Editor

All Windows users, including those using the Home edition, can use the Registry Editor to automatically delete the recent documents list. Here’s how.

1. Press “Windows key + R” to open the Run dialog.
2. Type “regedit” and click “OK“.
3. Go to the following folder in the Registry Editor.
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\
4. Right-click on the “Explorer” folder.
5. Select the “New” > “DWORD (32-bit) Value” option.
6. Set the name as “ClearRecentDocsOnExit“.
7. Double-click the newly created value.
8. Replace the value in “Value Data” with “1” and click “OK“.
9. Close the Registry Editor and restart your system.
10. With that, Windows will clear the recent documents list upon shutdown.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, open the Run dialog by pressing the “Windows key + R” shortcut. Next, type “regedit” and click the “OK” button. This opens the Registry Editor.

Once the Registry Editor opens, go to the following folder. You either manually navigate the folder tree in the left panel or copy the below path, paste it in the address bar, and press “Enter”.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer\

Now, ensure the “Explorer” folder is selected in the left panel. Next, right-click in the right panel and select the “New” > “DWORD (32-bit) Value” option.

The above action creates a blank value. Type “ClearRecentDocsOnExit” as its name and press “Enter” to confirm the name.

After creating and naming the value, double-click it. This action opens the “Edit Value” window. Here, replace whatever value in the “Value Data” field with “1” and click “OK“.

After that, close the Registry Editor by clicking the “X” icon on the title bar. Next, restart Windows. That is it. After restarting, Windows will automatically clear the recent document list when you shut down the system. The same is true when you restart the system.

In the future, if you want Windows to display the recently opened documents, either delete the “ClearRecentDocsOnExit” value or change its Value Data to “0”.

To stop recent documents from clearing on exit, either delete the value you just created or change its Value Data to “0”.

Wrapping Up – Automatically Deleting Recent Documents List on Shutdown

As you can see, whether you are using Windows 10 or Windows 11, it is pretty easy to configure your system to automatically clear the recent documents list on shutdown. If you are using the Pro or Enterprise editions, follow the first method, as it is the easiest. If you are using the Home edition, follow the Registry Editor method (second). Regardless of your chosen method, the end result is the same.

If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist.

Good to know:

• How to clear recent files in File Explorer
• How to clear File Explorer address bar history in Windows.