How to remove recent calls and contacts from iPhone screen. How to remove recent contacts from the application switching screen Remove recent documents in win 10

Lists of open files and USB devices, browser history, DNS cache - all this helps to find out what the user was doing. We have compiled step-by-step instructions on how to remove traces of your activities in different versions of Windows, Office and popular browsers. At the end of the article, you will find some scripts that will help you automatically keep your machine clean.

1. Clearing lists of recent places and programs

Let's start cleaning up the list of recent places and programs. The list of recent (in Windows 10 - frequently used) programs is in the main menu, and the list of recent places is in File Explorer.


How to turn off this mess? In Windows 7 - right-click on the "Start" button, select "Properties" and in the window that appears, uncheck both checkboxes in the "Privacy" section.

To clear the list of recent locations and documents, you need to delete the contents of the% appdata% \\ Microsoft \\ Windows \\ Recent directory. To do this, open a command prompt and run two commands:

Cd% appdata% \\ Microsoft \\ Windows \\ Recent echo y | del *. *

It also doesn't hurt to delete the contents of the% appdata% \\ microsoft \\ windows \\ recent \\ automaticdestinations \\ directory. It contains the latest files that appear in the jump list:

Cd% appdata% \\ microsoft \\ windows \\ recent \\ automaticdestinations \\ echo y | del *. *

To clear recent files automatically on exit, you must enable the "Clear recently opened documents log on exit" policy, which is located under User Configuration \\ Administrative Templates \\ Start Menu and Taskbar.

Now let's move on to Windows 10. You can turn off the list of recently added and frequently used applications through the "Options" window. Open it and go to the "Personalization" section, the "Start" item. Disconnect whatever is there.


It seems that the problem has been solved, but alas, this is not entirely true. If you enable these parameters again, then all lists with the same composition will appear again. Therefore, you will have to disable this feature through Group Policy. Open gpedit.msc and go to User Configuration \\ Administrative Templates \\ Start Menu and Taskbar. Include the following policies:

  • "Clearing the list of recently used programs for new users";
  • "Clear the log of recently opened documents on exit";
  • "Clear tile notification log on exit";
  • Delete the list of programs pinned to the Start menu.

It's easier to clear recent places in Windows 10 than in the "seven". Open Explorer, go to the "View" tab and click the "Options" button. In the window that appears, turn off the options "Show recently used files on the Quick Access Toolbar" and "Show frequently used folders on the Quick Access Toolbar." Don't forget to click the "Clear" button.

As you can see, a simple task like clearing the last objects has a rather difficult solution. Without editing group policies - nowhere.

2. Clearing the list of USB drives

In some secure facilities, only flash drives registered in the journal are allowed to be connected to the computer. Moreover, as usual, the magazine is the most ordinary one - paper. That is, the computer itself does not restrict the connection of unregistered drives in any way. Does not limit, but records! And if, when checking, they find that the user has connected unregistered drives, he will have problems.

We are by no means advising you to try to steal military secrets, but the ability to clear the list of recently connected drives can be useful in other life situations as well. To do this, look at the following registry keys:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \\ SYSTEM \\ CurrentControlSet \\ Enum \\ USBSTOR \\ HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \\ SYSTEM \\ CurrentControlSet \\ Enum \\ USB \\

Here they are - all the drives that you connected to your computer.


It would seem that you just need to take and clean everything. But it was not there! Firstly, the permissions for these registry branches are set in such a way that you will not delete anything even in the "seven", let alone the "ten".


Secondly, it takes a long time to assign rights and permissions manually, especially if there are many drives. Thirdly, admin rights will not help. The screenshot above was created when I was performing the delete operation with admin rights. Fourth, in addition to these two sections, there is a long list of sections to clean up. Moreover, they need not only be deleted, but correctly edited.

If for some reason you need to do everything manually, then search by keywords MountPoints, MountedDevices DeviceClasses and RemovableMedia. But it's much easier to use a ready-made program that will do everything for you. Some forums recommend USBDeview for this. However, I tested it and I declare that it cleans information from far from all the necessary sections. USBSTOR and USB continue to contain information about the connected media.

I can recommend the program. Launch it, check the "Perform real cleaning" checkbox. You can enable the "Save .reg undo file" parameter or not, but if the goal is not to check the program, but to prepare for the upcoming computer inspection, then it is better to turn it off.


The program not only cleans the registry, but also displays a detailed log of its actions (see below). When it finishes working, there will be no mention of connecting drives to your computer.


3. Clearing cache and browser history

The third point in our tudu is clearing the cache and browser history. There are no difficulties here - each browser allows you to reset the list of recently visited sites.

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The information viewed by the user on the World Wide Web is saved and displayed in the browsing logs of the web browser used. Having such a browsing history makes it easier to find sites that the user has visited before. However, such data stored on the hard drive weighs a lot. To clear your computer's memory, you need to periodically delete your browsing history.

  1. Launch the Yandex.

  2. On the browser toolbar, find the button with the stripes shown on it. Click on this icon.

  3. In the window that opens, select "History". Click on it.

  4. In the open submenu, select the sub-item "History".

  5. Find the link "Clear history". The link is on the right side of the screen (at the top). Click on it.

  6. Select the period for which you want to delete the log entries.

  7. Select the items to be deleted: list of visited sites; list of uploaded documents; cached information; cookies and other information about websites; data for automatic authorization; information about software; media licenses.

    Note!A cache is a designated area of \u200b\u200bmemory, an intermediate buffer with a high speed of information exchange.

  8. Click on the "Clear history" button.

The list of visited links has been deleted.

Clearing the visit log in Chrome

  1. Launch your browser.

  2. On the right (top) find a button with three dots. Click on it.

  3. In the window that appears, select the "History" line. Click on it.

  4. Another window will open. Select "History" in it again.

  5. On the left side of the screen, find the phrase "Clear history". Click on it.

  6. A new tab will open. A window will appear in which you will need to select "Basic settings" or "Advanced".

  7. Click on the arrow in the "Time Range". Specify the period for which you want to clear the history of visiting the journal.

  8. Below, select the information you want to delete: visit history; website files and data; cached pictures and other files.

    Note!Cookie (cookie) - a small piece of data that is sent by a web browser and stored in the memory of the user's device.

  9. Click on the "Delete" button. If you change your mind about clearing the log, click on "Cancel".

Clearing history at the Opera

Method 1

  1. Open the Opera web browser.

  2. In the upper right corner of the screen, look for an icon with three stripes. Click on them.

  3. A window will open. Scroll it with the mouse wheel until the line "Go to browser settings" appears. Click on this phrase.

  4. A new tab will open. On the left, find the word "Security". Click on it.

  5. In the "Privacy" group, click on "Clear browsing history".

  6. Specify the time period for which you want to delete the information.

  7. Select the information you want to get rid of: list of visited sites; list of uploaded documents; cookies and other information about sites; cached photos and files; passwords; information for automatic authorization; news usage data.

  8. Click on the "Clear browsing history" button. Otherwise, click on the "Cancel" button.

Method 2


The information has been deleted.

Clearing Safari History on iPhone and iPad

  1. Find the "Settings" button. Click on it.

  2. Find the "Safari" section. Click on it.

  3. Select "Clear History". Click on it.

  4. Confirm your actions by clicking on the "Clear history" button. Otherwise, click on "Cancel".

  5. The Clear History button is dimmed. Your browsing history has been cleared.

Clearing history in Chrome on iPhone and iPad


The visit log has been cleared.

Clearing history in Chrome on Android


Clearing history in Yandex Browser on Android

  1. Start your web browser.

  2. In the lower right corner, find the icon with three dots. Click on it.

  3. Select the "Settings" section. Click on it.

  4. Enter the item "Privacy".

  5. In the "Privacy" group, tap on the "Clear data" button. Select the information you want to get rid of. Confirm your actions by clicking on the "Delete" button.

The data has been deleted.

Video - How to quickly clear the memory of an IPhone / 2 GB in 5 minutes

Restore the last session in any browser


The last session is open.

Recover history in any web browser

  1. Click on the "Start" button.

  2. Click on the "All Programs" button.

  3. Scroll the window with the mouse wheel until the "Standard" line appears.

  4. Click on the "Service" button.

  5. Click on "System Restore".

  6. Check the box next to "Choose another restore point." Click on the "Next" button.

  7. Select the period before which the computer should recover. Click on "Next".

Note!System restore may affect other software as well. For example, at the end of the OS rollback, the drivers installed earlier may be missing.

Video - How to delete history in Yandex Browser

Apple named iOS 8 the most advanced operating system for mobile devices. It is equipped with applications and new functions: some of them were really expected, and some of them are happy to refuse. For example, from the list of recent contacts in the public domain on the application switching screen. How to prevent iOS 8 improvements from becoming a reason for complicating your life?

Removing recent contacts from the application switching screen

  1. Press the Home button twice - the application switching screen will appear. Make sure there are recent contacts at the top of the screen;
  2. Go to the menu "Settings / Settings" - "Mail, Addresses, Calendars / Mail, Contacts, Calendars" and select "Show in App Switcher";
  3. The contact management menu will appear on the screen: choose to display only favorite contacts or disable both options;
  4. Final check. We exit the Settings, double-click the Home button to return to the application switching screen and make sure that the compromising information is hidden from prying eyes.

To resume displaying contacts, it is enough to change the status to “on” in the menu “Settings” - “Mail, addresses, calendars” - “Show in switching programs”.

Surely many Apple phone users have noticed that the latest versions of the iOS operating system have a rather interesting innovation - when you open the multitasking mode, both your recent contacts and contacts from the Favorites list, if you have any, are displayed at the top of the screen.

The innovation is undoubtedly interesting and convenient, but in some situations it can play a cruel joke on you. It is quite easy to delete one line from the call history, but it will not be deleted from the "Recents" in the top panel, which may reveal the fact of your communication with someone that others should not know about.

If you do not find this innovation very useful for yourself, you can very easily disable it in the settings of your iPhone. Read how to do this in this small instruction.



Turn off the display of recent calls and contacts

Setting up the display of recent calls and favorites in the multitasking pane is as easy as anything else on an iPhone, but it's not easy to find. To enable, or vice versa, hide recent calls or contacts from "Favorites", follow these simple steps.

Step 1. Open your iPhone settings

Open the settings of your iPhone in any way you are used to, for example, by clicking on the icon with the name "Settings" on one of the smartphone screens.

Scroll down the settings menu to the item with the name "Mail, addresses, calendars" and open it.

In the settings submenu that opens as a result, you also need to scroll down the lines a little, and find in the menu with the title "CONTACTS" item with title "Show in Program switch", and of course open it.

As a result of your actions, you will finally get into the very settings that are responsible for displaying recent calls and contacts from "Favorites" in the multitasking panel (or program panel) of your iPhone.

Step 2. Turn off or turn on recent calls

The hardest part - finding the settings responsible for displaying recent calls - is over. In the menu that opens as a result of your actions in the previous step, simply move the sliders to the position that you need.

You can hide recent calls from the screen, leaving your favorite contacts, or vice versa. Of course, you can also remove all contacts, leaving an empty space above the running applications in the multitasking bar of the iPhone.

In order to bring everything back and re-enable the display of recent calls on the screen of your iPhone, just move the settings sliders to the other side.

It happens, they climbed on someone else's computer in search of dirt on a good person, and found nothing. And now in the history of recent files you can see what and when you opened. It should be a shame ... In order not to lose your honor and not to lose trust, consider in this instruction how to clear the folder of recent documents using the example of Windows 7.

Of course, it is impossible to climb in other people's computers in any case. But the knowledge from this article should be in everyone's head, because not knowing this is as embarrassing as delving into other people's files.

Clean up recent Windows 7 documents

In fact, everything is very simple. So simple that I even thought about whether to write an article about it. But still I decided to write.

During the following actions, UAC security messages may pop up. You have to agree with everyone. In general, I would recommend.

So, first let's figure out where the recent documents Window 7 stores. To do this, enable. Then go to the following address: C: \\ Users \\ User \\ AppData \\ Roaming \\ Microsoft \\ Windows \\ Recent (or C: \\ Users \\ User \\ AppData \\ Roaming \\ Microsoft \\ Windows \\ Recent Documents).

If your operating system is on a different drive, and not on C, then you need to search on the drive where it is.

From this "Recent Documents" folder, you can delete all or a selection of the last opened files of Windows 7. And then you need to delete from the Recycle Bin too.

There is another way to clean up recent Windows 7 documents. Click Start. Select the item "Recent documents" there, click on this folder with the right mouse button and select the item "Clear the list of recent documents". After that, also delete files from the trash can.

The second method, to clean up recent Windows 7 documents, is simpler than the first, but the first is given in case the second fails.

Turn off recent Windows 7 documents

If necessary, you can disable recent Windows 7 files. This is also very simple.

Right-click on the taskbar, select "Properties".

Then go to the "Start Menu" tab and uncheck the box next to "Store and display a list of recently opened items in the Start menu and on the taskbar."

Then we press the "Configure" button in the same window. In the window that opens, look for the line "Recent documents" and uncheck it too. Click here "Ok" and again "Ok" in the previous window.

Everything. If you click "Start", then there will be no item with recent documents. Files that were open before you disabled this feature will also be deleted. Recently opened Windows 7 documents are disabled and not saved.