When you click the Start button in Windows 11, the bottom half of the menu is dedicated to a section called “Recommended.” This area automatically populates with files you recently opened, newly installed applications, and even tips from Microsoft. While some users find this helpful for jumping back into a recent Excel spreadsheet, many consider it a privacy risk—especially if they frequently share their screen during Zoom meetings and don’t want colleagues seeing the names of their personal files. If you prefer a clean Start menu, you can easily disable these recommendations.
How to Disable the Recommended Section
You can turn off these file suggestions directly from the Windows 11 Settings app.
- Click the Start button on your taskbar, then click the gear icon to open Settings. (Alternatively, press the Windows key + I on your keyboard).
- In the left-hand sidebar of the Settings app, click on Personalization.
- In the main window on the right, scroll down and click on Start.
- Look for the toggle switch labelled Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer.
- Click the toggle switch to move it to the Off position.
Reclaiming the Empty Space
Once you turn off the recommendations, the bottom half of your Start menu will just be empty space. To make the menu look better and give yourself more room for Pinned apps, you can adjust the layout.
While still on the Personalization > Start settings page, look at the very top. You will see three layout options: “More pins,” “Default,” and “More recommendations.”
Click on More pins. This will shrink the empty “Recommended” section to a tiny sliver at the bottom, allowing you to fit several more rows of your favorite application icons into the top half of the Start menu.