Documents showing in recent when not opened

Anonymous
2023-11-08T23:08:54+00:00

I have noticed that every time I open file explorer, the recent list shows a random 10 documents which are stored on onedrive that I haven't accessed (on this or any other device). I am the only one with access to the device and the onedrive folder.

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

Microsoft 365 and Office | OneDrive | Other | 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.

0 comments

77 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2023-11-25T14:24:30+00:00

    Sorry one last piece of information if I go to OneDrive and look at recents the files in that list are correct. But the issue is when I am on my computer file explorer is shows recent files that were not accessed by me recently. What is really frustrating is the computer is showing that I accessed it when I clearly did not. I wasn't even awake when some of these files were accessed this morning.

    Was this answer helpful?

    20+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2023-12-06T22:22:03+00:00

    KittyBN, I see the same as you, so I tried turning off "Show files from Office.com" - and that seems to be having the desired effect as a work-around. Many thanks to markz&. Can you give this a try? (winver 22631.2792)

    Was this answer helpful?

    20+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2024-01-16T16:34:50+00:00

    Hi Rebecca,

    There is no virus or malware on your system. It is OneDrive accessing your files to compare and sync between your computer and the cloud storage. This is the normal behavior of the program to keep your files up to date between the two locations. The problem is a new setting in File Explorer that is causing these OneDrive updates to be shown as recent files. The updates should be hidden in the background as its not a concern for the user.

    There is a comment on page 2 of this post from "markz&" that explains how to turn it off. This solution worked on my own computer and several others I tested, so hopefully it will work for you as well:

    markz&

    I found out how to fix this at least for me ->

    Apparently a new default feature has been added to File Explorer...

    • Run File Explorer
    • Click the ... menu option (after Filter) and select Options
    • Image
      • In the Privacy section:
        switch off "Include account-based insights, blah blah blah"

    That did the trick for me.

    Was this answer helpful?

    10+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2023-12-06T21:55:16+00:00

    Ooh, I got excited about this, but I've found my privacy section shows differently. After 'Show frequently used folders', it says 'Show files from Office.com'. It says nothing about including account-based insights, etc. I wonder how I can get to that.

    Was this answer helpful?

    9 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  5. Anonymous
    2023-12-03T17:06:38+00:00

    Hello Tomm, People have been reporting this since October, and the issue remains the same. My Recent List showing in Files Explorer lists files I have not recently opened. I notice now that so, too, does the Recent List showing in OneDrive.

    I appreciate that you say the engineers are working on this bug and it might not be quickly resolved, but can you at least give us reassurance that it poses no serious threat and keep us updated about when it will be resolved. Myself, and many others, are having the same problem and are worried about this

    Was this answer helpful?

    9 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments