How To Disable Quick Access In Windows 10

The Quick Access menu is a useful characteristic in the Windows File Manager arsenal. What information technology does is save a handy shortcut to the recently opened files and folders on your Windows 10 and 11 computer. This makes it easy to reopen recently closed files and revisit recently closed or pinned folders. Even so, some users, citing privacy and security reasons, want to disable the Quick Access menu in Windows. Let's discover out how to do that.

Why Disable Quick Admission Menu in Windows

The File Director of the Windows operating organisation is one of the best in the industry. Information technology is quick and easy to navigate. There are plenty of keyboard shortcuts that work inside and a handy sidebar that makes information technology piece of cake to jump between drives and folders.

It is in the sidebar menu where yous volition find the Quick Admission menu too. Think of it equally a bookmarking feature and the symbol has been aptly chosen as 'star'.

At that place are 2 reasons:

Privacy – yous don't want your private or sensitive files and folders making it to the Quick Admission menu in case someone is wathcing over your should.
Clutter – besides many folders in the Quick Access menu makes it chaotic and hard to navigate.

How to Disable Quick Access Menu Logging

What we will do is instruct the File Explorer to not log and display recently opened files and folders in the Quick Access menu.

i. Printing Windows+E to open the File Explorer window. By default, information technology opens in the Quick Admission folder. Click on the three-dot menu icon and select Options.

two. In the pop-up menu that follows, under the General tab, uncheck Show recently used files in Quick access and Show oftentimes used folders in Quick access options.

quick access menu options in file explorer settings in windows

iii. Click on Apply to salvage changes.

Notation: The in a higher place steps are for Windows 11. In case you are using Windows 10, the steps may differ slightly. You will demand to click on File > Modify binder and search options to observe Binder Options.

How to Delete Recent Files/Folders from Quick Access Carte du jour

You accept disabled logging File Explorer history in the Quick Access menu and then Windows won't log new files and folders but what about activity that was already logged? You will however accept to delete them.

We wrote a detailed mail explaining how you can better manage or remove files and folders from the Quick Access menu in File Explorer. However, that'south a more selective process where yous can choose to remove or keep recent folders in the Quick Admission card individually. But what if you lot want to clear all File Explorer history and so that your recent files disappears from everywhere including the Start carte du jour? Yes, Windows also displays them in Start menu. Surprise!

For that, go back to Binder Options like yous did before and nether the Full general tab, click on the Articulate button.

delete file explorer browsing history in windows

How to Disable Quick Access Completely

The Quick Admission menu itself is useful as information technology allows you to pin important folders. Only if y'all desire to completely remove information technology from the File Explorer sidebar, you tin can exercise that besides.

1. Search for the Registry Editor in the Start menu and click on Run equally administrator to open up it.

ii. Navigate to the folder structure below.

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID{679f85cb-0220-4080-b29b-5540cc05aab6}\ShellFolder

3. Right-click on the ShellFolder and select Permissions.

4. Click on the Advanced button in the popular-up that follows.

five. In the next pop-up, click on Change next to the Possessor heading.

six. Now click on Avant-garde push.

seven. Click on Observe Now push button.

eight. Yous will see several entries at the bottom under Search Results. Select Administrators from the search results and so click on OK in each popular-up to save changes until you are dorsum in the Registry Editor.

9. Double-click on the Attributes folder inside ShellFolder and change the Value data to a0600000.

Wrap Up: Disable Quick Access Menu

You become a lot of options and several ways to decide how the Quick Admission menu functions, if at all, in the File Explorer. You tin can clear recent browsing history, pivot/unpin folders, and instruct File Explorer to not log whatsoever activity. Neat.

Not happy with the default File Explorer that ships with Windows? Here are some third-party file managers for Windows you may like.

Gaurav Bidasaria

A C.A. by profession and a tech enthusiast by passion, Gaurav loves tinkering with new tech and gadgets. He dropped out of CA in the final year to follow his passion. He has over seven years of experience as a writer covering consumer tech and writes how-to guides, comparisons, listicles, and explainers for B2B and B2C apps and services. He recently started working out just mostly, you will find him either gaming or streaming.