You open Start and half of it is a Recommended list you never asked for, showing files you opened once and apps you have not installed yet. The bit you actually want is a small grid above it.
There is no switch called Remove Recommended, which is why so much advice sends you to the registry. Microsoft's own page describes a simpler way, and it works.
I checked the Start settings on this machine before writing, because most of them turn out never to have been touched.
Recommended does not have an off switch
Say this first, because it saves you looking.
⛔ There is no single setting that deletes the section. People search for one for years.
⚡ Microsoft describes what happens instead, on its Start menu page. Unpin everything, toggle off the providers, and "then those sections collapse and users will not see them".
⭐ Empty it and it goes away. That is the mechanism, and it is not obvious from the settings screen.
⚠️ So the job is to switch off every source feeding it, not to find one master switch.
The switches that feed it
Four, and they are all in the same place.
⭐ Microsoft's route in: "Select Start, right-click on the bottom of the Start menu and select Start settings".
⚡ Then turn off recently added apps, most used apps, recently opened items and any recommendations or tips. Each one is a provider.
⚠️ Leave one on and the section stays, which is why people report the trick as not working.
⛔ Turn them all off and unpin what is left, and the space collapses into your pinned apps.
The layout choice most people miss
Small, and it changes how Start feels immediately.
⚡ Windows lets you weight Start towards pins or towards recommendations. More pins, or more recommendations, or balanced.
⭐ Choosing more pins shrinks the Recommended half even before you turn any provider off.
⚠️ Do that first, then empty the providers. The two together get you as close to a clean Start menu as Windows allows.
The all apps view has three shapes now
Worth knowing, because it is new and nobody announces it.
⭐ Microsoft states: "You can choose from different views for your installed apps, including Category, Grid, and List. You can switch between these views at any time, and Start will remember your last selection."
⚡ Category groups them, Grid is icons, List is the old alphabetical strip.
⚠️ List is the one to pick if you are used to Windows 10. It is the closest thing to the old menu on the whole screen.
⛔ Microsoft also notes that Start remembers your last view, so you set it once.
Pinning, and the bit that annoys people
Two instructions, quoted, plus one real limitation.
⚡ Microsoft's method: type the app name in Search, "right-click on the app, then select Pin to Start". You can also "right-click on a folder and select Pin to Start".
⭐ To remove one, "right-click on it and select Unpin from Start".
⚠️ Ours: pins are a grid and they reflow. Unpin something in the middle and everything after it shifts, which is why your careful arrangement keeps changing.
⛔ Drag them into the order you want after any change, or accept that the first row is the only stable part.
What this machine shows about the defaults
Measured, and it matches what happened with the taskbar.
⭐ Most of the Start and taskbar personalization values here have never been set. They are running on defaults nobody chose.
⚡ That is why Start feels imposed. It is imposed, until somebody opens the settings.
⚠️ Twenty minutes on that page changes more than any registry edit you will be shown, and none of it breaks on the next update.
⛔ Registry edits for Start do break on updates. The same is true of the tools that promise to restore the old taskbar.
The suggestions that are advertising
Separate, and worth turning off deliberately.
⭐ Some Recommended entries are apps you do not have. Those are promotions rather than history.
⚡ They are controlled by their own setting, alongside the tips and welcome prompts rather than in Start.
⚠️ Turning off tips and suggestions across Windows removes several of these at once. That is the same page as the welcome screen after updates.
⛔ You are not imagining the ads. They are a documented feature with a documented switch, which is better than pretending they are not there.
If Start will not open at all
A different problem, and worth separating.
⚡ A Start menu that does nothing when clicked is usually Explorer, not Start.
⭐ Signing out and back in restarts it cleanly, and it is faster than a reboot.
⚠️ If it began right after an update and you have any Start or taskbar add-on, that is almost certainly the cause.
Status: written from Microsoft's Start menu page on 28 August 2026, with the local settings read. ⛔ Nothing was changed, pinned or unpinned.
How do I remove the Recommended section in Windows 11?
There is no single switch. Microsoft describes it differently: unpin everything and toggle off all the recommended providers in Settings, and then those sections collapse and you will not see them. So the job is emptying it rather than finding an off button.
How do I open Start settings?
Microsoft's route is to select Start, right-click at the bottom of the Start menu, and select Start settings. Everything that feeds the Recommended section is on that page, along with the layout choice that weights Start towards your pins instead.
Can I get an alphabetical app list back?
Yes. Microsoft says you can choose from Category, Grid and List views for your installed apps, and that Start remembers your last selection. List is the closest thing to the old Windows 10 all-apps strip, and you only have to set it once.
Why do apps I have not installed appear in Start?
Because some Recommended entries are promotions rather than your own history. They have their own setting, which sits with the tips and suggestions switches rather than inside Start. Turning those off removes several prompts at once.
The Short Version
- There is no off switch for Recommended. You empty it instead.
- Microsoft says the sections collapse once every provider is off and pins are gone.
- Right-click the bottom of the Start menu to reach Start settings.
- Set the layout to more pins before you touch anything else.
- All apps has Category, Grid and List views. List is the familiar one.
- Start remembers your last view, so you set it once.
- Pins reflow when you unpin, which is why your arrangement moves.
- Some Recommended entries are promotions with their own separate switch.
Where to Next
Right-click the bottom of the Start menu and open Start settings. Everything on this page lives there.
Set the layout to more pins first, then turn off every provider feeding Recommended. One left on keeps the whole section.
Switch all apps to List if you came from Windows 10. It is the single change that makes Start feel familiar again.
Leave the registry edits alone. They work until the next feature update and then you are back here.
And if there is a Recommended entry you cannot get rid of, tell me what it was in the comments. The promotional ones behave differently from the rest and they are worth naming.
Isaac Smith is the founder and editor of PC Glance, a website that covers computers, laptops, and technology. He is a tech enthusiast and a computer geek who loves to share his insights and help his readers make smart choices when buying tech gadgets or laptops. He is always curious and updated about the latest tech trends.