Remove Recommended Section Windows 11 Start Menu

This guide shows you how to remove the “Recommended” section from the Windows 11 Start menu, giving you a cleaner, more private view that only shows the apps you pin. You’ll do this through a simple registry edit that hides both the Recommended section and the “More pins” button, and the change takes effect immediately.

What You’ll Need

• A PC running Windows 11 (any version, Home or Pro)
• Administrator access to your user account
• Basic comfort with the Registry Editor (you’ll only change one key)

Step-by-Step

1. Open the Registry Editor. Press Windows + R to open the Run dialog, type regedit, and press Enter. If prompted by User Account Control, click Yes.
2. Back up the registry (recommended). In the Registry Editor, click File in the top-left menu, then select Export. Choose a location, give the file a name like registry-backup, make sure “All” is selected under Export range, and click Save. This lets you restore the original settings if anything goes wrong.
3. Navigate to the Start menu policy key. In the left sidebar, paste this path into the address bar at the top and press Enter:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
4. Create a new DWORD value. With the Advanced folder selected in the left pane, right-click on the empty space in the right pane. Hover over New and select DWORD (32-bit) Value. A new entry appears with the name highlighted.
5. Name the value. Type exactly Start_ShowRecommended and press Enter. The name is case-sensitive but the spelling must be exact.
6. Set the value to 0. Double-click the Start_ShowRecommended entry you just created. In the “Value data” field, change it from 1 to 0. Make sure “Hexadecimal” is selected as the base, then click OK.
7. Close the Registry Editor and check the Start menu. Click the Start button (or press the Windows key). The Recommended section should be gone immediately. If it still shows, restart File Explorer: press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to open Task Manager, find “Windows Explorer” in the list, right-click it, and choose Restart.
8. Pin the apps you want. With Recommended gone, the Start menu now shows only your pinned apps at the top. To add apps, search for them, right-click the result, and select Pin to Start. You can also drag tiles to rearrange them.

Common Mistakes

• Typing the path wrong. The most common error is a typo in the registry path, especially missing the CurrentVersion part or getting the capitalization wrong. Copy and paste the path from this guide to avoid this.
• Creating the value in the wrong key. The DWORD must be inside the Advanced folder under Explorer. If you create it in Explorer itself or in Windows, it won’t work.
• Setting the value to 1 instead of 0. A value of 1 means “show Recommended” (the default). You need 0 to hide it.
• Forgetting to restart Explorer. The change usually applies instantly, but if your Start menu is cached, it may not refresh until you restart Explorer or sign out and back in.

Tips

• Use the “More pins” option. After removing Recommended, you’ll see a small toggle at the bottom of the pinned area. Click it to expand the grid so you can fit more pinned apps without scrolling.
• Hide recent files in File Explorer too. If you want a fully private experience, open File Explorer, click the three dots in the toolbar, select Options, go to the General tab, and under “Privacy” uncheck both “Show recently used files” and “Show frequently used folders”.
• Undo the change easily. To bring Recommended back, simply go back to the same registry key, double-click Start_ShowRecommended, change the value back to 1, and restart Explorer.
• Group Policy alternative (Pro only). If you have Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise, you can also use the Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) and navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar, then enable “Remove Recommended section from Start menu”. This does the same thing but through a GUI.

Troubleshooting

• The Recommended section is still there after the registry change. First, double-check that the value name is exactly Start_ShowRecommended and that it’s set to 0. Then restart File Explorer as described in Step 7. If it still persists, sign out of Windows and sign back in (or restart the PC).
• I can’t create a new DWORD. If the “New > DWORD (32-bit) Value” option is greyed out, you may not have write permissions to that registry key. Make sure you’re logged in as an administrator and that you opened regedit with admin rights (right-click regedit and select “Run as administrator”).
• The Start menu looks broken or empty. If you removed Recommended and then unpinned everything, the Start menu may appear blank. That’s expected — just pin the apps you use most. If the layout itself is glitching, restart Explorer or reboot.
• The change reverts after a Windows update. Windows updates occasionally reset certain Start menu settings. If this happens, simply repeat the registry steps. To make it more durable, you could export the single Advanced key after making the change and re-import it after a major update.
• I get an error when opening regedit. If regedit won’t open, run a system file check: open Command Prompt as administrator and type sfc /scannow, then press Enter. Let it complete and try again.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does this remove the entire Start menu?
No, it only removes the “Recommended” section, which shows recently opened files and apps. The pinned apps area and the search bar remain fully functional.

Will this affect my recently used files in other apps?
No. This registry change only hides the Recommended section in the Start menu. Apps like Word, Excel, or File Explorer will still show their own recent files unless you disable that separately in each app’s settings.

Can I hide just the recent files but keep the recommended apps?
No, the Recommended section bundles both recent files and recently installed apps into one area. There’s no built-in way to show only one part of it. You can, however, right-click individual items in the Recommended section and select “Remove from list” to clear them one by one, but new ones will appear.

Is this safe? Will it break anything?
Yes, this is a safe, officially supported registry value. It’s the same setting that Group Policy uses for enterprise deployments. The only effect is hiding the Recommended section. If you ever want it back, just set the value to 1.

Does this work on Windows 11 Home?
Yes. Unlike Group Policy (which is Pro-only), the registry method works on all editions of Windows 11, including Home.

Will this speed up my PC or improve performance?
Not noticeably. The Recommended section is just a UI element; hiding it may make the Start menu feel slightly snappier when it opens, but it won’t affect overall system performance or boot times.

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