Don’t like files appearing in recent items & frequent places, you can turn it off. Here’s how to disable recent items and frequent places.
When you open any file in Windows, it is stored in the Recent Items list. The same is applicable to the Frequent Places. The only difference is that frequent places will also show other things like your recently visited websites, folders, etc. You can access the Recent Items directly from the start menu, jump lists, and file explorer. As for the frequent places, you can access the locations under the File Explorer’s quick access and jump lists.
Though the recent items and frequent places feature lets you access your most useful files and locations quickly, I don’t remember the last time I use these features. Not only that but if you are sharing your system with other users, these features can be a little bit of a privacy issue.
So, if you are not using the recent items and frequent places feature or if you don’t them, follow the below steps to disable recent items and frequent places.
Disable Recent Items & Frequent Places
The Settings app provides a simple way to disable recent items and frequent places in Windows 10. All you have to do is toggle a button.
1. Open the PC Settings app by pressing keyboard shortcut Win + I or by searching for it in the start menu. You can also open it from the Win + X menu.
2. In the Settings app, go to the “Personalization → Start” page. On this page, toggle the switch under “Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar and in File Explorer Quick Access” to the “OFF” position.
3. Close the Settings app.
That is it. From now on, you will not see recent items and/or frequent places either in the start menu, taskbar, or File Explorer.
(Alternative) Registry Editor Method
If you are looking for an alternative method, you can use the registry editor to disable recent items and frequent places. All you have to do is create a Value and change its Value Data. Though sounds a lot, it is pretty easy. To be safe, back up the registry before making any changes.
1. Search for “Registry Editor” in the start menu and click on the result to open the Registry Editor. In the Registry Editor, paste the below path in the address bar and press Enter to go to the Advanced folder.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
2. Now, right-click on the “Advanced” folder and select the “New → DWORD Value” option. Name the new value as “Start_TrackDocs“.
3. Double-click on the Start_TrackDocs value and make sure its value data is set to “0“.
4. Close the registry editor and reboot Windows.
That is it. From this point forward, Windows will no longer track your files and you’ve disabled recent items and frequent places. If you ever want to enable the features, change the value data to “1” or delete the value.
I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible. If you like this tip, do check out how to remove quick access in File Explorer.
