Remove Recommended Section & Ads: Windows 11 Start

The goal here is simple: kill the “Recommended” section in the Windows 11 Start menu, along with the app promotions and tips that Microsoft sprinkles in as quiet advertising.

The good news is that on any edition you can empty that list and switch off the ads today, and on current builds a single Start setting now hides the section header outright.

This guide walks through the toggles, the new 24H2/25H2 option, the Group Policy and registry routes for Pro and Enterprise, and what Home users realistically get, with honest notes on edition limits and updates that undo your work.

At a Glance: What You Are Removing

The “Recommended” section sits below your pinned apps and mixes three things: recently added apps, recently opened files, and Microsoft’s “recommendations” for tips and new apps. That last bucket is effectively advertising.

Here is the quick map of each goal and where to handle it.

Goal	Where	Effect	Edition
Empty the list	`Settings > Personalization > Start`	Section goes blank, header may remain	All
Kill app/tip ads	Same Start panel, recommendations toggle	Stops promoted apps and tips	All
Remove the header	Start panel toggle (24H2/25H2)	Whole section disappears	All, current builds
Force removal	Group Policy / Registry	Section hidden by policy	Pro, Enterprise, Edu, SE

Why Are There Ads in My Start Menu?

Microsoft uses the Recommended area to surface Microsoft Store apps, “tips,” and shortcuts it wants you to try. These are promotions, even though they are not branded as ads.

They appear because the toggle “Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more” ships enabled by default. The same engine drives suggested content in the Settings app and notifications.

Promoted Store apps you have not installed.
Feature “tips” nudging you toward Edge, OneDrive, or Microsoft 365.
Website shortcuts pulled from your browsing history on some builds.

None of this requires a paid subscription to remove. It is all controlled by Windows settings you can reach in minutes.

Method 1: Empty the Section and Turn Off the Ads

This is the first stop for every edition. It clears the contents and silences the promotions.

Press Win + I to open Settings.
Go to Settings > Personalization > Start.
Turn off Show recently added apps.
Turn off Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists, and File Explorer.
Turn off Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more.

The middle toggle empties recent files; the last one stops the app and tip ads. On older builds the section header still shows but stays empty.

Method 2: Choose the “More Pins” Start Layout

Windows 11 lets you reweight the Start menu so pinned apps get more room and Recommended gets less. It does not delete the section, but it shrinks it to a single thin row.

Open Settings > Personalization > Start.
Under Layout, pick More pins.

Combine this with Method 1 and the Recommended strip becomes a near-empty sliver instead of a busy feed. The three layout choices are Default, More pins, and More recommendations, so More pins is the decluttered end of the slider.

Method 3: The New 24H2/25H2 Toggle That Removes the Header

This is the big change. On current 24H2 and 25H2 builds, switching off the recommendations toggle now removes the entire section, header included, rather than just emptying it.

Open Settings > Personalization > Start.
Turn off Show recommendations for tips, shortcuts, new apps, and more.
Sign out and back in, or restart, if the header lingers.

One honest caveat: on newer builds this toggle also disables Recent files in File Explorer, so you trade that convenience for the cleaner menu. In the latest experimental builds the section is being renamed from “Recommended” to “Recent” in both Start and Settings.

Method 4: Group Policy (Pro, Enterprise, Education)

The Local Group Policy Editor carries a dedicated policy. Be aware Microsoft officially scopes it to Windows 11 SE and Education; it is honored on many Pro and Enterprise machines but ignored on Home.

Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, press Enter.
Browse to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar.
Open Remove Recommended section from Start Menu.
Set it to Enabled and click OK.
Run gpupdate /force or restart.

Home edition has no gpedit.msc, so Home users skip to the registry or, better, the Method 3 toggle.

Method 5: The Registry Route

Create a System Restore point before editing the registry. A wrong value here can destabilize Windows, and the restore point is your one-click undo.

Press Win + R, type regedit, run as administrator.
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer (create the Explorer key if missing).
Create a DWORD (32-bit) named HideRecommendedSection and set it to 1.
To also strip website suggestions, add a DWORD HideRecommendedPersonalizedSites set to 1.
Restart Explorer or reboot.

To reverse it, delete those values and restart. This mirrors the SE/Education policy, so it lands reliably on Pro/Enterprise and only sometimes on Home.

Method 6: Turn Off Start and System-Wide Ads

To stop suggested content beyond the Start menu, clear the privacy switches that feed Microsoft’s recommendation engine.

Open Settings > Privacy & security > General.
Turn off Show me suggested content in the Settings app.
Turn off Let apps show me personalized ads by using my advertising ID.
Go to Settings > System > Notifications > Additional settings.
Untick Suggest ways to get the most out of Windows and Get tips and suggestions when using Windows.

Together these silence the “Get the most out of Windows” prompts and tailored ads across the OS.

Can I Fully Remove the Recommended Section?

Yes, more easily than before. On a fully updated 24H2 or 25H2 PC the Personalization toggle in Method 3 removes the header on every edition, which was historically impossible without policy or registry hacks.

If your build predates that behavior, full removal still needs the Group Policy or registry route, which is reliable on Pro, Enterprise, and Education.

Current build: the Start toggle alone usually does it.
Older build, Pro/Enterprise: use Group Policy or registry.
Older build, Home: empty the section; the header may stay.

What Can Home Users Actually Do?

Plenty, with one asterisk. Home edition lacks the Group Policy Editor, and the registry trick is inconsistent on Home, so the dependable path is the built-in toggles.

Empty recent apps and files via Method 1.
Kill the app and tip ads via the recommendations toggle.
On current builds, that same toggle removes the whole section.
Stop system-wide ads via Method 6.

If you are on an older Home build and the empty header still bothers you, a third-party shell like the open-source ExplorerPatcher can hide it, though that is a heavier step than most people need.

Home vs Pro: What Is Possible

Use this map to pick your route by edition and what each one can actually achieve.

Action	Home	Pro / Enterprise / Edu
Empty recent apps and files	Yes	Yes
Disable app and tip ads	Yes	Yes
Remove header via Start toggle (24H2/25H2)	Yes	Yes
Group Policy removal	No (no gpedit)	Yes
Registry `HideRecommendedSection`	Inconsistent	Reliable

Will Updates Bring the Recommended Section Back?

Sometimes, yes. Feature updates and the occasional cumulative patch can re-enable suggestion toggles or reintroduce the section, especially after a major version jump like moving to 25H2.

Policy-backed methods survive better than the in-app toggles. A Group Policy or registry value generally sticks across updates, while a flipped Settings switch is the first thing a feature update may quietly reset.

Recheck the Start panel after any feature update.
Confirm your registry DWORD is still 1 if you used Method 5.
Re-run gpupdate /force after big updates on Pro.

Quick Reference

Task	Path / Key	Setting
Empty recent apps	`Settings > Personalization > Start`	Off: Show recently added apps
Empty recent files	`Settings > Personalization > Start`	Off: Show recently opened items
Kill ads + remove header	`Settings > Personalization > Start`	Off: Show recommendations for tips…
More pins layout	`Settings > Personalization > Start`	Layout: More pins
Group Policy	`Computer Config > Admin Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar`	Enable: Remove Recommended section
Registry	`HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer`	DWORD `HideRecommendedSection` = 1
System-wide ads	`Settings > Privacy & security > General`	Off: Suggested content + ad ID

How To Remove The Recommended Section And Ads From The Windows 11 Start Menu In 2026