Recent files and frequently accessed folders can clutter your Quick Access view in Windows 11, making it challenging to navigate. Here’s how you can remove recent files from Quick Access:

1. Open File Explorer: You can do this by clicking its icon on the taskbar or pressing Windows+E on your keyboard.

2. Click on the three dots (ellipsis) menu: This is located at the top of the File Explorer window, towards the right side.

3. Choose “Options”: A new window will pop up, which is called ‘Folder Options’.

4. In the Folder Options dialog, under the General tab, you will find the Privacy section at the bottom.

5. Uncheck the boxes that say ‘Show recently used files in Quick access’ and ‘Show frequently used folders in Quick access’.

6. Click on “Clear” to clear all your recent files history. This won’t delete the files; it will just remove them from the Quick Access view.

7. After unchecking these options and clearing the history, click “Apply” followed by “OK” to save your settings.

Your Quick Access should now only display pinned items, and it will no longer show recent files or frequently used folders. To re-enable this feature, simply re-check those boxes mentioned in step 5 and apply the changes.

Remember that if you want to remove individual files or folders from Quick Access without changing your overall settings, you can right-click on those items within Quick Access and select “Remove from Quick access.” This will not delete the file/folder but simply remove it from the Quick Access view.