I have recent files showing in Finder and I do not want them to

How do I clear the results that show up when going to Finder>Go>Recents? I want to be able to prevent sensitive files from showing there on a shared computer

iMac 27″ 5K, macOS 11.4

Posted on Aug 9, 2021 2:19 PM

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Posted on Aug 10, 2021 6:22 AM

Well it seems that nobody mentioned the obvious… if I am understanding it correctly, you are talking about the Recents item that shows up in the Sidebar. This can be made to disappear easily. Control-click and choose Remove from Sidebar.

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Aug 10, 2021 6:22 AM in response to PRP_53

Well it seems that nobody mentioned the obvious… if I am understanding it correctly, you are talking about the Recents item that shows up in the Sidebar. This can be made to disappear easily. Control-click and choose Remove from Sidebar.

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Aug 9, 2021 5:11 PM in response to MPLimas

Apple Icon on Desktop >> pop down menu >> Recent. Under normal usages - it will list all recently opened Applications and below that Documents. At the very bottom of that Menu >> notice Clear Menu. That will do exactly that Recent Applications and Documents will be cleared just to be recreated once one starts to open Apps and Docs


Aside - showing Big Sur 11.4 which is out dated. Current version is 11.5.1. Just do a TM backup before attempting.

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Aug 10, 2021 4:37 AM in response to PRP_53

Hi, thanks for quick response. I understand that. However, when I go to Finder, then Go, then Recents, I get a finder window (not just a menu list) of file icons that I have accessed. This is what I would like to clear. Is there a way to do this? Or a way to not have Recents on the finder menu?


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I have recent files showing in Finder and I do not want them to

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