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
    2023-12-11T12:51:52+00:00

    I've done some more testing, unchecking the "Show files from office.com" only removes the recent files that are in the one drive folder - so if anyone including myself accesses files in the one drive folder with the "Show files from office.com" unchecked, then it won't show in the recent files.

    I've closed the One Drive app, and also closed any One Drive processes in Task Manager - but still files are being accessed in my One Drive folder locally on my machine (with the One Drive app closed so no syncing can happen). This is worrying as it means something is accessing the files, and unchecking "Show files from office.com" only hides any files accessed in your local hard drive one drive folder.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-12-11T13:35:33+00:00

    I don't think it has something to do with One Drive's syncing, as I closed the One Drive application (and used Task Manager to end all One Drive processes), and still something is accessing the files as they keep appearing in recent files when I have not accessed them with one drive closed - and "show files from office.com" is checked.

    By unchecking "show files from office.com" will only hide the fact that something is accessing the files in my local onedrive folder.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-12-11T14:30:43+00:00

    We need a senior and knowledgeable tech support worker to answer all our questions in ONE thread. Why are Microsoft not providing this? I was told that the Recent List problem is because of a bug that Microsoft engineers are working to fix. If so, why aren't Microsoft explaining more about it to the many of us affected, instead of just leaving us to fiddle with our settings, etc, and do things we don't understand?

    It worries me that a Microsoft technical support worker took an hour to come to the same conclusion that users on other threads had already figured out themselves - about unticking 'Show files from office.com'. This might remove the list, but it does not rectify the underlying issue or shed light about what's causing the problem. Why did that tech worker not know it's a recognised bug (or so I was told) that their engineers are working on?

    I'm fed up of getting different, often contradictory, answers from different tech workers on different threads that have been opened on this subject. This thread has been left unmoderated and we were told to start (yet) another thread, but there's no co-ordination, and we're getting nowhere.

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-12-11T14:39:10+00:00

    Actually, a few days ago I tried to start another thread on this issue so that it would be moderated. My attempt was removed because it was labeled a duplicate.

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