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Clear GTK recently used files list

Overview​

About this script

This script improves your privacy on Linux.

These changes use Linux system commands to update your settings.

recently-used.xbel is part of the GTK+ toolkit 1 that's developed and used by GNOME 2. GtkRecentManager provides a facility for adding, removing, and looking up recently used files and acts like a database of all the recently used files 3.

GTK is used by many GUI software. GNOME uses the GTK+ library 2, while KDE uses the QT library 4. recently-used.xbel is used by other third-party GTK 3 based applications such as Firefox, Visual Studio Code (and all other Electron applications 5), Thunderbird… See also: List of GTK applications | Wikipedia.

This script uses Bash (Shell script) scripting language.

Use with Caution

This script is only recommended if you understand its implications. Some non-critical or features may no longer function correctly after running this script.

Implementation Details

  • Language: bash

  • Required Privileges: Root/sudo access

  • Compatibility: Linux only

  • Reversibility: Some changes may be permanent

Explore Categories​

This action belongs to Clear recently used files list category. Revealing data about recent files used by a user has privacy risks, such as exposing your actions and files that you wish to keep private. Read more on category page ▶

Apply now​

Choose one of three ways to apply:

  1. Automatically via privacy.sexy: The easiest and safest option.
  2. Manually by downloading: Requires downloading a file.
  3. Manually by copying: Advanced flexibility.

Alternative 1. Apply with Privacy.sexy​

privacy.sexy is free and open-source application that lets securely apply this action easily.

Open privacy.sexy

privacy.sexy instructions
  1. Open or download the desktop application
  2. Search for the script name: Clear GTK recently used files list.
  3. Check the script by clicking on the checkbox.
  4. Click on Run button at the bottom of the page.

Alternative 2. Download​

Reversible

This script is reversible, you can restore your changes to the initial/default state. The restore/revert methods provided here can help you fix issues.

If something goes wrong, use the Revert script provided above.

  1. Download the script file by clicking on the button below:

    Download script

  2. Run the script file by clicking on it.

Alternative 3. Copy​

This is for advanced users. Consider automatically applying or downloading the script for simpler way.

  1. Open Terminal

  2. Copy the following code:

Code to apply changes
# From global installations
rm -fv /.recently-used.xbel
rm -fv ~/.local/share/recently-used.xbel*
# From snap packages
rm -fv ~/snap/*/*/.local/share/recently-used.xbel
# From Flatpak packages
rm -fv ~/.var/app/*/data/recently-used.xbel
  1. Paste the code into terminal.
  2. Press Enter to apply the code.

Some scripts requires restarting your computer to take affect.

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