SharePoint Document Issues

How to Hide Frequent Sites and Recent Activity on SharePoint

Kushani Nimanthika Oct 21, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user wants to remove or hide frequent sites, recent activity, and document suggestions from appearing on the SharePoint start page.

How to Hide Frequent Sites and Recent Activity on SharePoint

Product: Microsoft SharePoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Managing user privacy and optimizing the visibility of dashboard items on the SharePoint start page.
Observed behavior: SharePoint currently displays personalized recent activity and frequent sites on the start page, which may cause privacy or layout concerns for users.

Before you start

Keep in mind that simply hiding recent activity from the start page does not restrict actual access to the files. Ensure you have administrator or site owner privileges to modify tenant-wide settings and properly manage document permissions.

Solution 1Recommended

Disable Delve Settings to Hide Suggested Sites

Turning off the Delve feature at the admin level will prevent users from seeing frequent sites and personalized document suggestions on the SharePoint start page.

The visibility of frequent sites and suggested content on the SharePoint start page is heavily tied to Microsoft Delve and the Office Graph. Disabling Delve at the tenant level will hide these personalized insights.

Go to the SharePoint Admin Center

Log in to the Microsoft 365 admin center using your administrator credentials, then navigate directly to the SharePoint admin center.

Access User Profile Settings

Click on 'More features' in the left-hand navigation pane, locate the 'User profiles' section, and click 'Open'.

Manage Delve Settings

Select 'Manage User Permissions' or find the settings related to Office Graph and Delve. Turn off the toggle that allows Delve to display personalized activity and frequent sites for users.

Disable Delve Settings to Hide Suggested Sites

Admin Rights Required: You must be a Microsoft 365 Global Administrator or SharePoint Administrator to modify tenant-wide Delve and Office Graph settings.

Solution 2

Audit and Restrict SharePoint Permissions

Hiding dashboard items does not secure sensitive files. You must restrict SharePoint permissions to prevent unauthorized document access.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does hiding recent activity on SharePoint revoke user access to those files?

No. Hiding recent activity or frequent sites only removes them from the user's dashboard view. If a user has the direct link to the file and sufficient permissions, they can still open it. To actually restrict access, you must modify the site or library permissions.

Why do some users still see suggested documents after hiding frequent sites?

If Delve or the Office Graph is still enabled at the tenant level, personalized insights may continue to appear. Ensure Delve is completely disabled in the SharePoint Admin Center to remove these suggestions globally.

Can individual users hide their own recent activity on the SharePoint start page?

Individual users have very limited control over the SharePoint start page layout. While they can sometimes remove specific items from their immediate view, disabling the feature entirely requires administrative privileges.

Document & File Issues