By default, the very top item in the sidebar of every macOS Finder window is a smart folder labeled “Recents”. It automatically aggregates and displays every file, image, and document you have interacted with across your entire hard drive over the past few weeks.
While intended to be helpful, for many users, “Recents” is a massive privacy liability. If you are sharing your screen during a Zoom meeting, or if a colleague looks over your shoulder, they can instantly see your most sensitive personal documents, financial spreadsheets, or private photos prominently displayed every time you open a basic Finder window.
macOS allows you to right-click and remove “Recents” from the sidebar, but Apple aggressively forces it back if you ever reinstall the OS or run certain updates. To completely and permanently eradicate the “Recents” search query from the Finder UI, you can use the Terminal.
Step 1: Remove Recents from the Sidebar
First, we must tell the Finder configuration file to drop the smart search item from the favorites list.
- Open the Terminal app (found in Applications > Utilities).
- Copy and paste the following command exactly as written (this modifies the Finder’s property list to strip out the Recents sidebar entry):
defaults write com.apple.finder ShowRecentTags -bool false - Press Return.
Step 2: Change the Default New Window Behavior
Even if it is gone from the sidebar, if you press Command + N to open a new Finder window, macOS often defaults to showing the “Recents” view in the main window anyway.
- In the Terminal, run this command to force all new Finder windows to open directly to your Home folder (the one with your username) instead of Recents:
defaults write com.apple.finder NewWindowTarget -string "PfHm" - Press Return.
(Note: If you prefer new windows to open to your Documents folder, use "PfDo" instead of "PfHm").
Step 3: Restart the Finder
For these preference changes to take effect, the Finder application must be forcefully rebooted.
- In the Terminal, type:
killall Finder - Press Return.
Your desktop icons will briefly flash as the Finder restarts. When you open a new window, it will instantly default to your clean, safe Home directory, and the privacy-invading “Recents” tab will be completely gone from the sidebar.