If you’ve felt that the Windows 11 desktop experience was a bit too rigid, relief is finally on the horizon. Currently rolling out to Windows Insiders in the Experimental channel, Microsoft is actively testing a substantial suite of customization features for both the Start menu and Taskbar, as detailed in recent WinCentral Windows 11 news coverage.
As outlined on the official Windows Insider Blog, this flight focuses on giving users true ownership over their workspace—addressing persistent community feedback regarding display scaling, visual clutter, privacy during screen sharing, and desktop real estate management.
Here is a full breakdown of the major enhancements currently being evaluated in preview testing.
Tailoring Size to Your Workspace: Small, Large, or Automatic
For users who felt the original Windows 11 Start menu swallowed up too much vertical room on laptops—or conversely, felt too compact on ultra-high-resolution monitors—Microsoft is introducing dedicated menu scaling controls.
In addition to the standard Automatic view, Insiders can explicitly select their preferred proportions:
Small: Drops the overall menu height down to save precious screen real estate—ideal for 13-inch laptops and compact setups.
Large: Expands the layout and increases target sizing, making touch interaction and high-DPI navigation effortless.
A Cleaner Layout: “Recent” Files & Granular Toggles
Clutter management is receiving a massive upgrade through precise, row-by-row layout controls.
First, the generic “Recommended” header is being officially renamed to Recent across the interface and Settings page to clearly describe what the section actually displays: recently installed apps and active working files.
Second, Microsoft has added section-level toggles. You no longer have to settle for an all-or-nothing interface. You can independently show or hide:
Pinned apps
Recent files and programs
All apps list
Want a hyper-minimalist Start menu that displays strictly pinned app icons without a trail of recent documents below? Disabling the Recent section takes just a single toggle.
Decoupling Start Recommendations from File Explorer
In previous builds, disabling recommended files in Start also wiped-out jump lists and recent file histories inside File Explorer. This Experimental update separates those controls completely allowing you to hide recommendations in Start while maintaining convenient file shortcuts inside File Explorer.
Privacy Controls for Presenters and Streamers
Privacy-conscious users, streamers, and working professionals gain a practical setting: the option to hide your account name and profile picture directly inside Start.
When sharing your screen during video calls, recording tutorials, or delivering client presentations, your personal account details remain obscured, preventing unintended data exposure.
Reclaiming Space: Taskbar Edge Placement and Small Buttons
The updates extend beyond the Start menu itself. As highlighted in WinCentral’s report on movable taskbar updates, Microsoft is testing restored Taskbar positioning, letting users place the taskbar along any edge of the screen: Top, Bottom, Left, or Right.
Vertical Orientation: Positioning the taskbar on the left or right side lets developers, writers, and power users reclaim valuable vertical pixels for code editors and documents.
Responsive Popovers: Shifting the taskbar to the top causes Start, Search, and system flyouts to open naturally from the top down.
Smaller Taskbar Buttons: A new setting under Taskbar Behaviors instantly shrinks taskbar height and icon dimensions without requiring a sign-out or system restart.
Redesigned Settings Navigation
To streamline configuration, Microsoft completely redesigned the Start and Taskbar Settings pages. Visual previews show exactly how your desktop will look before changes take effect, replacing nested submenus with a clean, unified dashboard.
While these updates are currently limited to testing builds—such as the recent Windows 11 26H1 Beta and Experimental flights—they reflect a clear direction for the future of Windows 11: moving away from fixed layouts toward a modular, user-centric environment.
