In Windows 10, Windows Explorer has been renamed to File Explorer – it’s the default file manager and lets us browse through our folders and access files. However, it also saves our actions as the recent file history. There are various reasons for why you might want to clean up File Explorer Recent History in Windows 10 although privacy is one of the most common.
File Explorer saves the recent file history in several locations.
Firstly, the Quick Access section in File Explorer’s left-hand pane shows the most recent files. In the main pane, you can also view the most recently accessed folders, and files, each in their own section.
Furthermore, if you click File in File Explorer the menu that opens has a section called “Frequent places” that shows the top 10. Also, if you right-click the File Explorer icon on the taskbar you can see a “Frequent” list there as well, which is commonly known as the Jump List.
How To Clean up File Explorer Recent History in Windows 10
Now that you know all the places File Explorer shows your recent file history lets see what can be done to remove this information. Keep reading to find out how to clean up File Explorer Recent History in Windows 10!
To begin with, open a File Explorer window, click File and select Options.
This will open the Folder Options window. There, click the Clear button right next to the Clear File Explorer History option. This will remove both recently used files and frequently used folders from Quick Access.
It’s also possible to clean up File Explorer Recent History in Windows 10 by deleting the folders listed below:
%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\ %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations\ %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\CustomDestinations\
If you choose this method, you will also need to delete a registry key called TypedPaths. To do this, press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog, type regedit and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor. Then, navigate to the key below and delete the entry called TypedPaths from the left-hand pane:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
