Windows Recent Items & AutomaticDestinations Folders

Bottom Line: It is 100% safe to clear the Windows Recent items folder. Deleting shortcuts in Recent, AutomaticDestinations, and CustomDestinations will NOT delete your actual files, documents, photos, or videos.

What are Recent & AutomaticDestinations Folders?

Located at %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent (and its hidden subfolders AutomaticDestinations and CustomDestinations), these directories are used by Windows File Explorer.

Windows uses these folders to store:

• File Shortcuts (.lnk): Shortcuts to recently opened Word documents, PDFs, images, and folders.
• JumpList Archives (.automaticDestinations-ms): Right-click taskbar pin histories for apps like Chrome, Excel, and VS Code.

If a taskbar JumpList becomes corrupted or fails to pin new items, clearing AutomaticDestinations is the official Microsoft fix.

Can You Delete Windows Recent Items?

✅ Yes, it is completely safe to delete.

• Zero data loss: You are only deleting small shortcut links pointing to your files—your actual documents in Documents, Downloads, or Desktop stay 100% safe.
• Privacy protection: Clearing Recent items wipes your recent file history from Windows File Explorer quick access.

How to Safely Clean Up Recent Items

Method 1: Delete via File Explorer Run Command

1. Press Win + R, type shell:recent, and press Enter.
2. Press Ctrl + A to select all shortcut files.
3. Press Delete.

Method 2: Fix Corrupted JumpLists

If right-clicking taskbar icons fails to show recent items:

1. Press Win + R, paste %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations, and press Enter.
2. Delete all files inside this directory.

Related Guides

• Learn about deleting [Windows Temp folder].
• How to clean up Thumbs.db files.
• Check if you can clean Desktop.ini.