Disable recent files in Windows 10

In order to disable the recent items it requires 2 actions.

1. open Personalization in the Settings app.
2. Click/tap on Start on the left side. Turn on or off to Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar for what you want.

Source

You can also set the following registry key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

Just set the DWORD Start_TrackDocs value to the desired setting

0 = Turn off

1 = Turn on

If you cannot find the key, it means you have not in the past toggled the option, doing so will create the key for you.

1. Right-click desktop.
2. Click on Personalize.
3. Click on Start in the left pane.
4. Turn off Show recently opened items in Jump Lists on Start or the taskbar.

The two options above does NOT work. The links are still stored but just not shown, so in order to do it right, enable gpedit.msc and turn Off Recent Items Through Group Policy Editor.

https://www.howtogeek.com/236711/how-to-turn-off-recent-items-and-frequent-places-in-windows-10/

If you're talking about the display in Window Explorer, when you look at a folder, then what you want is to disable all grouping in the folders view.

Go to the "View" tab, click on the "Group By" dropdown, and then select (none) as your option.