Windows 10: Why am I seeing files that don't belong to me in the Home, Recommended Section? How do I...

Why am I seeing files that don't belong to me in the Home, Recommended Section? How do I know my files are not being shown to someone else? I've seen the articles that tell how to get rid of the recommended section - that is not my question. I work with confidential information and need to make sure my files are not being added to someone else's recommended section since I am seeing files that do not belong to me there.

:)

 

Recommended section in the start menu is blank

Hello, thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Community. I am here to help and provide assistance with any questions or concerns you may have.

I believe you should see recommended apps, recently used files, etc. Let's try some steps to address this problem:

1. Open the Settings app by pressing Win + I.

2. Navigate to Personalization on the left, and then select Start on the right.

3. Under Layout, choose More pins to reduce the size of the Recommended section.

4. Disable Show recently added apps.

5. Disable Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer. This will clear your recent items list and halt the display of recently opened items in Jump Lists and File Explorer > Home > Recent.

6. Turn off Show websites from your browsing history.

7. Turn off Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more.

This will clear the Recommended section in your Start menu. After you do this, restart your computer, and follow the steps again to enable everything again.

 

Recommended section in the start menu is blank

I can suggest a couple of additional steps for you to attempt and check if it resolves the problem:

- Check "Folders" under Personalization > Start: Make sure the desired folders like Downloads or Documents are enabled under "Folders" to populate the list with recently accessed files.

- Turn off "Focus Assist" while checking for recommendations: Focus Assist might prevent the system from learning your usage patterns and populating recommendations.

- Disable Group Policy settings: Check if any Group Policy settings related to Start menu and recommendations are enabled. You can access Group Policy Editor by pressing Win + R and typing "gpedit.msc".

 

Recommended Section Windows 11 : how to display again a file removed from the list ?

Hello,

I like the Recommended section of Windows 11 in Start Menu, especially to open files that I am using frequently.

For some files, I asked Windows 11 by mistake to remove them from the Recommanded section by a 'Right Click' -> Remove from the list.

Now, I want to have them again in the Recommended section.

But I cannot find the way to reinitialize the Recommended section settings or to add them back in the list one by one.

I tried to activate/deactivate Recommended section but it does not do that.

Any advice ?

Thank you for your help.