[Windows Tip] How to Remove “NEW” Tag from Newly Installed Program Shortcuts in Start Menu

Recently an AskVG reader asked me about a method to disable the “NEW” tag present on newly installed program shortcuts in Start Menu of Windows 10.

Actually in Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 operating systems, after installing a new software program if you check its shortcut entry in Start Screen or Start Menu, you’ll see a “NEW” tag present next to the shortcut as shown in following screenshot:

NEW_Tag_Start_Menu_Program_Shortcut_Windows_10.png

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It’s a feature of Windows OS which helps users in identifying the newly installed programs easily but sometimes this feature becomes very irritating when the “NEW” mark is displayed on several newly installed programs.

Microsoft has not provided any option to permanently disable or hide the appearance of “NEW” tag on newly installed programs. Also I was unable to find any group policy or registry tweak to turn off the “NEW” tag display in Start Menu.

I also tried the good ol’ registry trick to disable highlighting of newly installed programs in Start Menu which requires creating new DWORD Start_NotifyNewApps in “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced” key and settings its value to 0. It used to work in older Windows versions such as Windows XP but unfortunately it no longer works in Windows 8/8.1/10.

As of now I’m aware of only 2 ways to remove the “NEW” tag from newly installed programs shortcuts in Start Menu which are as following:

METHOD 1:

If you launch the newly installed program by clicking on its shortcut present in Start Menu/Start Screen, it’ll immediately remove the “NEW” tag from the shortcut. So you just need to open the program once and the “NEW” tag will disappear.

METHOD 2:

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If you don’t want to open the program, just right-click on the program shortcut which is showing the “NEW” tag. As soon as you right-click on it, the “NEW” tag will disappear from the shortcut.

Remove_NEW_Tag_Start_Menu_Program_Shortcut_Windows_10.png

These are the only ways to get rid of the “NEW” tag from newly installed program shortcut in Start Menu. If I come across any working solution to completely disable this feature, I’ll update this tutorial.

Also Check:

[Windows 10 Tip] Add, Remove, Rename or Change Shortcuts on the Bottom-Left of Start Menu

Published in: Windows 10, Windows 8

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

  1. Since the fall creators update 2017 windows 10 I keep getting the ‘new’ tag randomly, on programs ive had for years. Super annoying I can’t turn it off. I remember a few weeks ago I went through the entire list of programs right clicking to get rid of it. Just keeps popping up sporadically.

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