start menu customization

Microsoft is testing a substantially more customizable Windows 11 Start menu in Insider preview builds in June 2026, letting users hide Pinned, Recommended/Recent, and All apps sections, choose menu size, and conceal account identity details from the Start surface. That sounds like a small...

Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8553 on May 29, 2026, adding new Start menu customization controls in the Experimental channel, including section toggles, size presets, a renamed Recent area, and an option to hide the user name from the menu. The headline is not that...

Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Experimental Preview Build 26300.8553 on May 29, 2026, adding Start menu size presets, section visibility controls, a renamed Recent area, and options to hide account identity from the menu. The move is small in code terms but large in Windows-politics...

Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8553 on May 29, 2026, bringing a redesigned, highly configurable Start menu to the Experimental channel, while Beta Build 26220.8544 shipped alongside it without the same Start customization controls for now. The change matters because...

Microsoft released Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26300.8553 to the Experimental Channel on May 29, 2026, adding a more modular Start menu that can hide or show individual sections, switch between small and large layouts, and remove the visible account name and profile image. The update is not...

Microsoft began testing new Windows 11 personalization controls on May 15, 2026, giving Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel options to resize the Start menu, hide major Start sections, adjust file recommendations, obscure account identity in Start, and move the taskbar to any screen...

Microsoft’s Windows 11 Start menu can be customized today through Settings > Personalization > Start, where users can change the layout, reduce recommendations, show or hide recent items, add quick-access folders, and rearrange pinned apps. That sounds like a modest how-to tip, but it also...

Microsoft is reportedly preparing more Windows 11 Start menu customization in 2026, including options to resize the menu and disable entire sections such as Recommended, after years of complaints from users who felt the interface had become too crowded. The timing is awkward. Windows 10 is...

Windows 11’s 25H2 Start menu may be the clearest example yet of Microsoft solving a problem users did not ask to have, then shipping the fix in a way that still feels a little too opinionated. The result is familiar to anyone on a 1080p laptop: a bigger pinned area, a scrollable app list, and a...

The Windows 11 Start menu may finally be getting the kind of flexibility users have wanted since launch, and that alone makes this one of the more meaningful interface changes Microsoft has tested in years. Early reporting indicates a broader redesign that would let people hide major sections...

The Windows 11 Start menu has become one of Microsoft’s most contentious interface changes in years, and the latest 25H2 rollout has only sharpened that debate. What some users see as a cleaner, more modern launcher, others experience as a bloated panel that swallows too much screen space and...

Microsoft’s new Start menu for Windows 11 has arrived in preview form — and the reaction from long‑time users is loud, highly polarized, and focused less on aesthetics than on control. Background / Overview Microsoft shipped the redesigned Start menu as part of the optional KB5067036...

I stripped the Windows 11 Start menu down to a single purpose: a tidy, predictable launcher for the apps I use every day — and I did it by removing the noisy “Recommended” and the sprawling “All” sections. What started as a small tweak to stop accidental privacy leaks and reduce visual clutter...