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Displaying recent and frequently used items

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Recommendation

Situational

Can be disabled for privacy or a clean interface: «Start» and «Quick access» stop showing usage history.

The source files are not deleted; they open manually as usual.

Lists in «Start»
Hidden
History collection
Not stopped
Files
Not deleted

What changes

Section titled “What changes”

Lists of recent documents and frequently used apps disappear from the interface: the recommendations and frequent programs sections vanish from the «Start» menu, and «Quick access» in File Explorer no longer shows recent files. What remains is a clean interface with no traces of what you opened and when.

Exceptions and differences

Section titled “Exceptions and differences”

The setting hides the lists that have already been collected, but the history itself keeps accumulating. If you need to stop the accumulation as well, apply it together with «Tracking of recently opened documents» — that setting stops history recording, while this one removes its display. For work that needs quick lists, the change only gets in the way.

How to verify the result

Section titled “How to verify the result”

Open «Start»: the sections with recent and frequently used apps and documents should disappear. Then open File Explorer — «Quick access» has no list of recent files, while pinned folders remain. Open any document: it should not end up in the lists.

How to change and revert

Section titled “How to change and revert”

In BoosterX, open «Optimization» → «Customization» → «Windows Shell» → «Show recent and frequently used items» and switch the toggle to «Enabled»: BoosterX will apply hiding of recent and frequently used items. Click «Apply» at the bottom of the page; with «Instant apply» enabled, the change is made immediately. To revert, switch the toggle to «Disabled»: BoosterX will return Windows to its default state — the lists in «Start» and «Quick access» will come back.

Confirmation

Section titled “Confirmation”

Last verified: 2026-09-19.