How to Enable or Disable Recommended Section in Windows 11

This article explains how to turn on or off the new “Recommended” section in the File Explorer home on Windows 11.

Windows File Explorer is a file manager app that comes with Microsoft Windows. It lets you view, copy, move, delete, and rename files files and folders. You can organize them in a way that makes sense to you.

In File Explorer Home, you can see your pinned (favorites), folders you use often, and files you opened recently.

Starting with Windows 11 build 23403.1001, Windows added a new “Recommended” section. This helps you quickly find the files you need most.

This feature (shown in the image below) works for people who sign into Windows with an Azure Active Directory (AAD) account. The recommended files are cloud files connected to your account. They might be files you own or files that others shared with you.

Why Turn Recommendations On or Off?

Some people like seeing recommended files. Others prefer a cleaner, simpler view. You can choose what works best for you.

What Happens When You Change This Setting?

When you turn recommendations on, File Explorer shows files you might want to access. When you turn them off, that section disappears from your screen.

Method 1: Use File Explorer Settings

This is the easiest way to turn recommendations on or off.

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Look for the three-line menu icon (hamburger menu) at the top.
3. Click Options or Settings.
4. Click the General tab.
5. Find the Privacy section.
6. Check the boxes to turn on recommendations. Uncheck them to turn off recommendations:
   • Show recommended section
   • Include account-based insights, recent, favorite, and recommended files
7. Click Apply, then OK.

Method 2: Use the Windows Registry Editor

This method is more technical. Use it if the first method doesn’t work for you.

⚠️ Admin privileges required

1. Press the Windows key + R on your keyboard.
2. Type regedit and press Enter.
3. Click Yes when asked if you want to allow this app to make changes. ⚠️ Admin privileges required
4. In the Registry Editor window, go to this location:
   
   Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
   
5. Look in the right pane for these two items:
   • ShowCloudFilesInQuickAccess
   • ShowRecommendations
6. Double-click ShowRecommendations.
7. Type 1 to turn on the “Recommended” section.
8. Type 0 to turn off the “Recommended” section.
9. Click OK.

Don’t see these items? Right-click a blank area in the right pane. Select New, then DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it ShowRecommendations. Then enter 1 or 0 to enable or disable the section.

You may need to restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

Summary

You now know two ways to control the “Recommended” section in Windows 11 File Explorer:

• Method 1: Use File Explorer settings (easier for most people)
• Method 2: Use the Windows Registry Editor (for advanced users)

The “Recommended” section shows cloud files linked to your account. Turning it on or off is your choice. Pick the option that gives you the best File Explorer experience. Remember that you may need to restart your computer for changes to work.