Have you ever shared your screen in a meeting or looked at a laptop with a coworker, only to have File Explorer open with a list of your private recent files? By default, Windows displays up to 20 recent files on the File Explorer Home page and taskbar jump lists. Here is how to quickly clear your viewing history and permanently turn off recent file tracking.
Quick Summary
- One-time clear: Press ‘Win + E’ → Click the three dots (‘⋯’) at the top → ‘Options’ → In [Privacy], click [Clear] next to ‘Clear File Explorer history’
- Disable auto-tracking: In Folder Options, uncheck all 2–3 boxes under Privacy (‘Show recently used files’ and ‘folders’)
- Disable Start Menu integration: Press ‘Win + I’ → [Personalization] → [Start] → Toggle ‘Show recently opened items’ to [Off]
- Change default startup folder: In Folder Options, change ‘Open File Explorer to’ from [Home] to [This PC]
Clear Past File Explorer History in 3 Seconds
File Explorer keeps a meticulous record of the files and folders you open. To clear this entire history at once, you need to open the Folder Options menu.
Press Win + E to open File Explorer. On Windows 11, click the three dots (⋯) on the right side of the top menu bar and select [Options]. If you are using Windows 10, click the [View] tab at the top and select [Options], or go to [File Explorer Options] under ‘Appearance and Personalization’ in the Control Panel.
Once the window opens, check the ‘Privacy’ section at the bottom of the [General] tab. Click the [Clear] button next to ‘Clear File Explorer history’ to immediately delete recent records from File Explorer Home and taskbar jump lists. If you only want to remove a specific file, right-click that item in the list and select [Remove from Recent].
Permanently Turn Off Recent Files Tracking
Clicking [Clear] only removes past records; newly opened files will start accumulating again. To prevent automatic tracking going forward, you must disable the display options themselves.
In the [General] tab of Folder Options, uncheck all active boxes in the [Privacy] section.
| Setting (Windows 11) | Windows 10 Name | Action |
|---|---|---|
| Show recently used files | Show recently used files in Quick access | Uncheck |
| Show frequently used folders | Show frequently used folders in Quick access | Uncheck |
| Show files from Office.com | – | Uncheck |
After unchecking the boxes, click [Apply] and [OK] to stop File Explorer from automatically collecting your activity. To fully disable recent items across Windows, press Win + I to open Settings, navigate to [Personalization] > [Start], and toggle Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer to [Off].
Set File Explorer to Open to ‘This PC’ by Default
Setting File Explorer to open directly to your computer’s drives rather than the Home or Quick Access view provides an even cleaner workspace.
Locate the ‘Open File Explorer to’ dropdown menu at the top of the [General] tab in Folder Options. Change the default Home (or Quick access) setting to [This PC] and click OK. The next time you press Win + E, your C: and D: drive list will open first.
Note that for cloud-synced files such as OneDrive or SharePoint, some users have reported issues where files remain in the list after clearing or show errors when removed individually. It remains unclear whether this is by design or a specific build bug.
Press ‘Win + E’ now, open Folder Options, and uncheck the recent files options. Taking 10 seconds now will prevent awkward privacy leaks during your next screen share.
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