How to hide the list of most used applications in Windows 10 Start menu

This Most Used list is generally quite useful, allowing you to quickly access the applications you frequently use on the system. However, if you want to optimize the look of the Start menu, or feel that the display of your frequently used apps jeopardizes your privacy, you can easily hide it. Here's how to do it.

Hide the list of frequently accessed applications in the Start menu

By default, the Start menu's Most Used list automatically tracks your application open habits, which statistically sees which apps you use the most and lists them in a specific order in the Start menu. .

If you want to remove (hide) this Most Used list from the Start menu, you'll need to access the Windows Settings app.

First, launch the ' Settings ' app by opening the Start menu and clicking the 'gear' icon (or by pressing the Windows + I key combination ).

In the Settings window, click on ' Personalization '.

In the Personalization window, click ' Start '.

In the Start menu interface settings window, tap the switch labeled ' Show Most Used Apps ' so it goes into the ' Off ' state (gray).

That is all! The next time you open the Start menu, the list of ' Most Used ' apps will be hidden.

Prevent Windows from tracking your most used apps

If you want to completely disable the feature that allows Windows to track the apps you use the most, open ' Settings ' and navigate to Privacy> Genera l. Toggle the switch next to the ' Let Windows track app launches to improve Start and search results ' state to an ' Off ' state.

However, this feature will be useful when you regularly search for the utility on Windows, the system will know which result you click on to prioritize showing it to the top, making the operation faster.

Lesley Montoya

Update 21 April 2021