If you’d ask me to name the most annoying feature of Windows 11’s Start menu, I’d probably pick the Recommended section. Here specifically the inability to remove it from the Start menu.
While you can configure Windows to stop giving recommendations, you cannot remove the then-blank section from the Start menu. That is, until now.
The Sherlock Holmes of Windows, Phantom of Earth, discovered that Microsoft has had a change of heart in the latest Windows 11 Insider build.
The hidden feature introduces major changes to the operating system’s start menu, including the ability to remove the recommended section.
Here is his post on X that highlights the change.
Here is how this works:
- Open the Settings on the system.
- Switch to the Start category.
- Disable “Show recently added apps”.
Disabling the option will remove the entire Recommended section of the Start menu, including the header that could not be removed previously.
Here is why this is important. Up until now, Recommended would take up space in the Start menu, even if you did not use it. You could not use the space to display more pinned apps, which some users might prefer.
Phantom of Earth notes that there is another feature available now that complements the change. You may now choose to display “all pins by default”. You had to click on the All button up until now to display them all. The change places these icons in the area of the recommended section.
Closing Words
It is rare these days that I applaud Microsoft for the changes that it makes to the Windows operating system, but this one, albeit years too late, is a welcome addition.
Considering that it is currently only available in Insider builds, it may take a while before it lands in Stable. And yes, there is always the chance that a feature gets pulled again. Let us hope that this is not one of those cases.
Now You: do you use the Windows start menu or do you prefer to use a replacement?
Curious, why would Windows users still be using the MS menu rather than any one of the several third party options?
Is this the same:
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/remove-recommended-section-from-start-menu-in-windows
Since all my menus are third party, I don’t need to deal with such issues.
It just probably makes way for some Copilot garbage. Glad to see that at least Reddit is filled with people that have jumped ship to linux. On the same note, quite a movement now also where people are degoogling their lives. It’s brewing… There will be trouble for big tech when kids think it’s COOL to be free.
We’ve been using “Power Start Menu” since we installed 11.
It’s not a replacement, it just give you a little more control. It lets you hide the search box and advertising (reccomended) elements. The menu is still the same size but those elements are not visible and the reason we chose it is because it just keeps working after every win update.
Ironically it comes from the M$ store but you do not need an online account and you do not need to stay signed into the store to use it though you do have to sign in to purchase it for a one time fee of $4.99 and of course completely signing back out is not simple by design.
I do not want to see “all” on there either. This will be something new I have to figure out a way to hide.
What I do want is a folder tree like 7 has. I suppose they would be called sub-groups on 11? I can drop tiles on other tiles to make groups but I can’t make sub groups inside those 🙁
I also want to resize the start menu so it’s not mostly blank space.
I hated 10 at first but actually grew to like it.
I hated 11 at first too and I still do.