Recent files list shows files which have not been opened by user

Anonymous
2023-10-18T07:04:00+00:00

Hello,

for a couple of days or maybe even weeks I noticed that in my recent files list in Windows Explorer several files appear which I did not actively open. At this moments there are 13 of these files in my list. All of these files seem to be on OneDrive.

This concerns me in two different ways:

Security: have the files been "touched" by some villaineous software, or have they just been checked routinely by Windows and its components?

Usability: In the recent files list are more then 50 percent of files which I did not work on and which will block my view on the files I did open.

I am hoping for advise.

Have a great time

Olaf.

***Moved from Windows / Windows 11 / Files, folders, and storage***

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | For home | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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Anonymous
2024-01-11T20:56:21+00:00

Has anyone tried unchecking "Include accoutn-based insights, recent, favorite...." under folder options of Home?

Open File explorer > click home > click the "..." > go to options > uncheck Include account-based insights...".

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  1. Anonymous
    2023-12-01T02:09:48+00:00

    I am also having this issue and the time stamp showing last accessed does not correlate at all to any time I was active on my device (for example time shows the middle of the night). This is very concerning as there are multiple documents that contain sensitive information. Similar to what everyone else has noted, I’d like to understand what has caused this to just recently happen.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-12-01T22:56:21+00:00

    I am having exactly this problem. I'm seeing a long list of so-called 'recent' files in File Explorer that I have not opened or in any way interacted with recently. These are Word 365 files that are synced to OneDrive. I'm interested to see that others are experiencing this. Is Microsoft going to fix it?

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-12-03T11:53:59+00:00

    I too have this problem. The the list shows files as "recent" that I haven't viewed in weeks or even months and even shows that they were viewed today.

    This is a big problem. It renders the "recent" list useless and makes me very concerned about what's happening with these files.

    I will shut down One Drive until I hear that this problem is resolved.

    Please advise ASAP.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-12-03T18:38:00+00:00

    I am seeing the same as well in regards to the date and time these files have been opened. It's somewhat convincing that this isn't a security issue. Might also explain why windows keeps cutting back to explorer when I open a file from explorer, maybe it then refreshes the recent files list whilst opening the file, then promting explorer as the main view again

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