The Neon Distraction
Whenever you install a new application on Windows 11, the operating system attempts to be helpful by loudly drawing your attention to it. When you open the Start menu and navigate to the “All apps” list, any newly installed software will be highlighted with a brightly coloured “New” badge, and the folder it resides in will often have a temporary background highlight. If you frequently install multiple tools, utilities, or updates on a daily basis, your Start menu quickly becomes a chaotic mess of bright notifications, making it difficult to find the specific icons you are actually looking for.
Cleaning Up the Start Menu
To eliminate this visual clutter and stop Windows 11 from treating every minor software installation like a major event, you can disable the highlighting feature entirely via the standard Personalisation settings.
Press the Windows Key and click the gear icon (or press Windows Key + I) to open the Settings app. In the left-hand navigation pane, click on Personalisation. In the main window, scroll down and select Start to open the Start menu configuration page. Look through the list of toggle switches until you find the one labelled Show recently added apps. Click this toggle to turn it Off. This immediately removes the “Recently added” section from the top of your pinned Start menu layout. More importantly, it completely disables the coloured “New” highlighting on icons and folders within the “All apps” list, ensuring your program list remains clean, uniform, and distraction-free regardless of how much new software you install.