Windows 11 looks completely different from Windows 10, especially when it comes to the Start menu. The Windows 11 Start menu includes a Recommended section that shows recently downloaded files and installed apps.
The section was added to make relevant content easier to reach, but some users don't like it because it takes up a lot of space in the Start menu and makes sensitive information easier to find. If you're one of those users, here is how to remove the Recommended section from the Start menu in Windows 11.
How to remove the "Recommended" section of the Start menu with Group Policy Editor
Before you continue, note that you can only remove the Recommended section of the Start menu in the Education edition of Windows 11 (SE). If your computer runs Windows 11 Pro or Home, you can only configure it to hide files and apps from the Recommended section. The section will still appear in the Start menu.
With that in mind, here is how to remove the Recommended section from the Start menu in Windows 11 Education:
1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type gpedit.msc into the search bar and press Enter. This opens Group Policy Editor.
3. In Group Policy Editor, navigate to the following location:
User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar4. Double-click the Remove Recommended section from Start Menu policy on the right.
5. Select Enabled in the policy editing window that appears.
6. Click Apply > OK.
Then restart your computer. After it restarts, you will see that the Recommended section has disappeared from the Start menu.
How to remove the "Recommended" section of the Start menu with Registry Editor
Another quick way to get rid of the Recommended section is to edit the registry. Here is what you need to do.
1. Open the Run tool, type regedit into the search bar and press Enter.
2. In Registry Editor, navigate to the following location:
ComputerHKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREPoliciesMicrosoftWindows3. Right-click the Windows key, hover over New and select Key.
4. Name the key Explorer.
5. Right-click the Explorer key, hover over New and select DWORD (32-bit) Value.
6. Name the value HideRecommendedSection.
7. Double-click the HideRecommendedSection value on the right.
8. Enter 1 in the Value Data field and click OK. This removes the Recommended. section. To revert the changes, enter 0 in the Value Data field and click OK.
Then restart your computer to see the changes.
Remove content from the Recommended section of the Start menu with the Settings app
You can use the Windows Settings app to manage what appears in the Recommended section of the Start menu. This is useful if you only want to show installed apps or recently accessed files, or if you want to show neither.
To clear the Recommended section's content, open the Settings app, select Personalization from the left sidebar and click Start on the right. In the Start window, you will see 3 toggles: Show recently added apps, Show most used apps and Show recommended files in Start, recent files in File Explorer, and items in Jump Lists.
You can turn off Show recently added apps if you don't want the Recommended section to display apps you recently installed on your computer. The Show most used apps toggle controls the apps you open most often on your computer. You can switch it off if you don't want those apps to appear in the Recommended section.
You can turn off Show recommended files in Start, recent files in File Explorer, and items in Jump Lists if you don't want the Recommended section to display files and folders you have accessed recently.
