How to Add or Remove Pinned Section on Start Menu in Windows 11

You can add or remove the Pinned section on your Windows 11 Start menu to customize your experience.

The Start menu in Windows 11 has distinct areas: Pinned apps, All apps, and Recommended. The Pinned section displays your most frequently used applications at the top.

By default, the Start menu displays 12 pinned apps in the smaller view and 18 in the larger view. A recent Windows 11 update (build 26300.8553) added the ability to turn this entire Pinned section on or off.

Reference: Customize the Windows 11 Start menu

Option 1Add or Remove Pinned Section using Settings

You can add or remove the Pinned section on your Windows 11 ⊞ Start menu easily using ⚙️ the Settings app by turning a simple toggle on or off.

1. Open Settings. You can do this by pressing the Windows key + I on your keyboard.
2. On the left side, click Personalization. Then, on the right side, click Start.
3. Look for Layout options. You will see a toggle for Pinned.
4. Turn the toggle On to add the Pinned section. Turn it Off to remove it (this is the default).
5. You can now close ⚙️ the Settings window.

Option 2Add or Remove Pinned Section using Registry Editor

You can change whether the Pinned section appears on your Windows 11 ⊞ Start menu by editing the Registry Editor, but this is a more advanced method and requires caution.

What happens when done? Your ⊞ Start menu will either show or hide the Pinned apps section based on the change you make.

Note: Be aware that making mistakes when editing the registry can lead to issues with Windows. It is recommended to back up your registry before making changes. This guide only shows the graphical method for changing registry settings.

1. Open the Registry Editor. You can do this by searching for regedit in the Windows search bar and clicking on the result.
2. Admin Privileges Required: You may need to click “Yes” on a User Account Control (UAC) prompt to open Registry Editor.
3. Navigate to the following key in the Registry Editor:
   

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

4. In the right-hand pane, find a DWORD value named Start_UseCustomLayout.
5. To Add Pinned Section: Double-click on Start_UseCustomLayout. Set the Value data to 1. Click OK.
6. To Remove Pinned Section: Double-click on Start_UseCustomLayout. Set the Value data to 0. Click OK.
7. Close the Registry Editor.
8. You may need to 🔄 restart your computer or sign out and back in for the changes to take effect.

Reference:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/customize/desktop/customize-the-windows-11-start-menu#pinned-section

Summary

This post showed you two simple methods to control the Pinned apps section on your Windows 11 ⊞ Start menu, either through the easy-to-use ⚙️ Settings app or the more advanced Registry Editor.