Clear recent files and folders history

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Works with Windows 10 and 11Works with Windows Vista, XP, 7, 8, 10, 11, and Windows Server 2008 or newer.

• Windows onlyThis script improves your privacy on Windows
• Single actionThis page belongs to a script, containing basic changes to achieve a task.
• Impact: Minimum

  System Functionality / Data Loss Risk: Low

  This action improves privacy with minimal impact when you run the recommended script.

• Batch (batchfile)These changes use Windows system commands to update your settings.
• Administrator rights requiredThis script requires privilege access to do the system changes
• Fully reversible

  You can fully restore this action (revert back to the original behavior) using this website.

  The restore/revert methods provided here can help you fix issues.

Overview

This script enhances privacy by removing traces of recently accessed files and folders from the Windows system.

Windows automatically tracks and stores information about files and folders accessed by users ^{1 2}. This data is maintained in various registry keys and includes details such as file names, types, access dates, and full paths ^{1 2 3 4}. This information persists even after the original files or folders are deleted ^{1 4}.

This data is commonly used for forensic analysis to study your behavior ^{1 2 3 4 5}. It can reveal user activities, including access to sensitive or unauthorized documents ^{1 2 3}. This information provides insights into user behavior and file interactions across different applications ².

To protect your privacy, this script deletes tracking information from these locations:

• HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RecentDocs\<Extension> ^{1 2 5} for Windows XP ² and Vista ^{1 2}.
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSaveMRU\<Extension> ^{2 3 5} for Windows 2000 ⁵, Windows XP ^{3 5}, Windows Vista ².
• HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSavePidlMRU\<Extension> ^{2 3 5} for Windows 7 ³, Windows Vista ^{2 5}, Windows 8 ³ and Windows 10 ³.
• %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent Items ^{1 4} for Windows 10 ¹ and Windows 11.

Caution

Clearing this history may disrupt your workflow by removing quick access to frequently used files and folders.

Safe for General Use

All actions in this script is recommended for all users. This is recommended for all users to improve without any noticeable impact on the system functionality.

Sources

PrivacyLearn.com maintains strict sourcing standards for accuracy, integrity and up-to-date content. Our content relies on authoritative sources including vendor documentation, industry standards, and verified research. Learn more about our verification process and quality standards in our editorial standards page.

• RecentDocs MRU Blog. forensafe.com. (2024).
  Original: https://forensafe.com/blogs/recentdocs.html
  Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240730194320/https://forensafe.com/blogs/recentdocs.html
• What is MRU (Most Recently Used)? - Magnet Forensics. www.magnetforensics.com. (2024).
  Original: https://www.magnetforensics.com/blog/what-is-mru-most-recently-used
  Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240730200254/https://www.magnetforensics.com/blog/what-is-mru-most-recently-used/
• OpenSaveMRU Blog. forensafe.com. (2024).
  Original: https://forensafe.com/blogs/opensavemru.html
  Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240730195941/https://forensafe.com/blogs/opensavemru.html
• Recent Items. forensafe.com. (2024).
  Original: https://forensafe.com/blogs/investigating_recent_items.html
  Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240730200152/https://forensafe.com/blogs/investigating_recent_items.html
• Most recently used (MRU) — Windows Registry knowledge base (winreg-kb) 20240211 documentation. winreg-kb.readthedocs.io. (2024).
  Original: https://winreg-kb.readthedocs.io/en/latest/sources/explorer-keys/Most-recently-used.html
  Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20240730195957/https://winreg-kb.readthedocs.io/en/latest/sources/explorer-keys/Most-recently-used.html

Apply Now

Choose one of three ways to apply:

Download script

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• No app needed
• Offline usage
• Easy-to-apply
• Free
• Open-source

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Help

How to apply or restore "Clear recent files and folders history" using script

• ≈ 2 min to complete
• Tools: Web Browser
• Difficulty: Simple
• ≈ 5 instructions

1. 1

   Download

   Download the script file by clicking on the   Apply protection  button above.
   Use   Undo protection button above to restore changes.
2. 2

   Keep the file

   If warned by your browser, keep the file.
3. 3

   Open

   Open the downloaded file.
4. 4

   Exit

   Once it's done, press any key to exit the window.
5. 5

   Restart

   Restart your computer for all changes to take effect.

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• Recommended for most users
• Includes safety checks
• Free
• Open-source
• Popular
• Offline/Online usage

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Help

How to apply or restore "Clear recent files and folders history" using privacy.sexy

• ≈ 3 min to complete
• Tools: privacy.sexy
• Difficulty: Simple
• ≈ 4 instructions

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

1. 1

   Open or download

   Open or download the desktop application
2. 2

   Choose script

   1. Search for the script name: Clear recent files and folders history
   2. Check the script by clicking on the checkbox.
3. 3

   Run

   Click on ▶️ Run button at the bottom of the page.

   This button only appears on desktop version (recommended). On browser, use 💾 Save button.

Run commands

Copy and run commands manually Requires technical knowledge

Apply

Apply changes

:: Clear registry values from "HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RecentDocs" (recursively)
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "$rootRegistryKeyPath = 'HKCU\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RecentDocs'; function Clear-RegistryKeyValues { try { $currentRegistryKeyPath = $args[0]; Write-Output "^""Clearing registry values from `"^""$currentRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; $formattedRegistryKeyPath = $currentRegistryKeyPath -replace '^([^\\]+)', '$1:'; if (-Not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath)) { Write-Output "^""Skipping: Registry key not found: `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; return; }; $directValueNames=(Get-Item -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath -ErrorAction Stop | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Property); if (-Not $directValueNames) { Write-Output 'Skipping: Registry key has no direct values.'; } else { foreach ($valueName in $directValueNames) { Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath -Name $valueName -ErrorAction Stop; Write-Output "^""Successfully deleted value: `"^""$valueName`"^"" from `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; }; Write-Output "^""Successfully cleared all direct values in `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; }; Write-Output "^""Iterating subkeys recursively: `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; $subKeys = Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath -ErrorAction Stop; if (!$subKeys) { Write-Output 'Skipping: no subkeys available.'; return; }; foreach ($subKey in $subKeys) { $subkeyName = $($subKey.PSChildName); Write-Output "^""Processing subkey: `"^""$subkeyName`"^"""^""; $subkeyPath = Join-Path -Path $currentRegistryKeyPath -ChildPath $subkeyName; Clear-RegistryKeyValues $subkeyPath; }; Write-Output "^""Successfully cleared all subkeys in `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; } catch { Write-Error "^""Failed to clear registry values in `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^"". Error: $_"^""; Exit 1; }; }; Clear-RegistryKeyValues $rootRegistryKeyPath"
:: Clear registry values from "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSaveMRU" (recursively)
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "$rootRegistryKeyPath = 'HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSaveMRU'; function Clear-RegistryKeyValues { try { $currentRegistryKeyPath = $args[0]; Write-Output "^""Clearing registry values from `"^""$currentRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; $formattedRegistryKeyPath = $currentRegistryKeyPath -replace '^([^\\]+)', '$1:'; if (-Not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath)) { Write-Output "^""Skipping: Registry key not found: `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; return; }; $directValueNames=(Get-Item -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath -ErrorAction Stop | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Property); if (-Not $directValueNames) { Write-Output 'Skipping: Registry key has no direct values.'; } else { foreach ($valueName in $directValueNames) { Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath -Name $valueName -ErrorAction Stop; Write-Output "^""Successfully deleted value: `"^""$valueName`"^"" from `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; }; Write-Output "^""Successfully cleared all direct values in `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; }; Write-Output "^""Iterating subkeys recursively: `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; $subKeys = Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath -ErrorAction Stop; if (!$subKeys) { Write-Output 'Skipping: no subkeys available.'; return; }; foreach ($subKey in $subKeys) { $subkeyName = $($subKey.PSChildName); Write-Output "^""Processing subkey: `"^""$subkeyName`"^"""^""; $subkeyPath = Join-Path -Path $currentRegistryKeyPath -ChildPath $subkeyName; Clear-RegistryKeyValues $subkeyPath; }; Write-Output "^""Successfully cleared all subkeys in `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; } catch { Write-Error "^""Failed to clear registry values in `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^"". Error: $_"^""; Exit 1; }; }; Clear-RegistryKeyValues $rootRegistryKeyPath"
:: Clear registry values from "HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSavePidlMRU" (recursively)
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "$rootRegistryKeyPath = 'HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\ComDlg32\OpenSavePidlMRU'; function Clear-RegistryKeyValues { try { $currentRegistryKeyPath = $args[0]; Write-Output "^""Clearing registry values from `"^""$currentRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; $formattedRegistryKeyPath = $currentRegistryKeyPath -replace '^([^\\]+)', '$1:'; if (-Not (Test-Path -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath)) { Write-Output "^""Skipping: Registry key not found: `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; return; }; $directValueNames=(Get-Item -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath -ErrorAction Stop | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Property); if (-Not $directValueNames) { Write-Output 'Skipping: Registry key has no direct values.'; } else { foreach ($valueName in $directValueNames) { Remove-ItemProperty -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath -Name $valueName -ErrorAction Stop; Write-Output "^""Successfully deleted value: `"^""$valueName`"^"" from `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; }; Write-Output "^""Successfully cleared all direct values in `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; }; Write-Output "^""Iterating subkeys recursively: `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; $subKeys = Get-ChildItem -LiteralPath $formattedRegistryKeyPath -ErrorAction Stop; if (!$subKeys) { Write-Output 'Skipping: no subkeys available.'; return; }; foreach ($subKey in $subKeys) { $subkeyName = $($subKey.PSChildName); Write-Output "^""Processing subkey: `"^""$subkeyName`"^"""^""; $subkeyPath = Join-Path -Path $currentRegistryKeyPath -ChildPath $subkeyName; Clear-RegistryKeyValues $subkeyPath; }; Write-Output "^""Successfully cleared all subkeys in `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^""."^""; } catch { Write-Error "^""Failed to clear registry values in `"^""$formattedRegistryKeyPath`"^"". Error: $_"^""; Exit 1; }; }; Clear-RegistryKeyValues $rootRegistryKeyPath"
:: Clear directory contents  : "%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent Items"
PowerShell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Command "$pathGlobPattern = "^""$($directoryGlob = '%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent Items'; if ($directoryGlob.EndsWith('\*')) { $directoryGlob } elseif ($directoryGlob.EndsWith('\')) { "^""$($directoryGlob)*"^"" } else { "^""$($directoryGlob)\*"^"" } )"^""; $expandedPath = [System.Environment]::ExpandEnvironmentVariables($pathGlobPattern); Write-Host "^""Searching for items matching pattern: `"^""$($expandedPath)`"^""."^""; $deletedCount = 0; $failedCount = 0; $foundAbsolutePaths = @(); Write-Host 'Iterating files and directories recursively.'; try { $foundAbsolutePaths += @(; Get-ChildItem -Path $expandedPath -Force -Recurse -ErrorAction Stop | Select-Object -ExpandProperty FullName; ); } catch [System.Management.Automation.ItemNotFoundException] { <# Swallow, do not run `Test-Path` before, it's unreliable for globs requiring extra permissions #>; }; try { $foundAbsolutePaths += @(; Get-Item -Path $expandedPath -ErrorAction Stop | Select-Object -ExpandProperty FullName; ); } catch [System.Management.Automation.ItemNotFoundException] { <# Swallow, do not run `Test-Path` before, it's unreliable for globs requiring extra permissions #>; }; $foundAbsolutePaths = $foundAbsolutePaths | Select-Object -Unique | Sort-Object -Property { $_.Length } -Descending; if (!$foundAbsolutePaths) { Write-Host 'Skipping, no items available.'; exit 0; }; Write-Host "^""Initiating processing of $($foundAbsolutePaths.Count) items from `"^""$expandedPath`"^""."^""; foreach ($path in $foundAbsolutePaths) { if (-not (Test-Path $path)) { <# Re-check existence as prior deletions might remove subsequent items (e.g., subdirectories). #>; Write-Host "^""Successfully deleted: $($path) (already deleted)."^""; $deletedCount++; continue; }; try { Remove-Item -Path $path -Force -Recurse -ErrorAction Stop; $deletedCount++; Write-Host "^""Successfully deleted: $($path)"^""; } catch { $failedCount++; Write-Warning "^""Unable to delete $($path): $_"^""; }; }; Write-Host "^""Successfully deleted $($deletedCount) items."^""; if ($failedCount -gt 0) { Write-Warning "^""Failed to delete $($failedCount) items."^""; }"

Revert

Restore changes

IiI=

Help

How to apply or restore "Clear recent files and folders history" using commands

• ≈ 2 min to complete
• Tools: Command Prompt
• Difficulty: Medium
• ≈ 3 instructions

View step-by-step guide with screenshots

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1. 1

   Open Command Prompt

   Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. 2

   Copy code

   Copy the code:

   Copy Apply Code Copy Revert Code
3. 3

   Paste & run

   Paste the commands into Command Prompt and press Enter to run.

   Some changes require a system restart to take effect

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About the Creators

These people have authored this documentation and written its scripts:

• 

  undergroundwires

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  • Open-source developer since 2005
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• Open-Source Contributors

  • Hundreds across the globe
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About Us

Reviewed By

This guide has undergone comprehensive auditing and peer review:

• Expert review by undergroundwires

  • Verified technical accuracy and editorial standards
  • Assessed system impact and user privacy risks

• Public review by large community

  • Privacy enthusiasts and professionals peer-reviewed
  • Millions of end-users tested across different environments

History

We continually monitor our guides, their impact and all other privacy options. We update our guides when new information becomes available. On every update, we publicly store who made the change, what has been changed, why the change was made and when the change was made.

Review Change History Our Change Process