Forum Discussion
Recent files
Recent files show files have been accessed today within minutes of this message. I have not accessed these files in most cases in months and in some cases years. I have tried Microsoft support but they haven't been able to help.
Example: I have a word document called AC placement. I have not opened that document in more than a month. In the Recent area it shows that I accessed that document at 3:20 PM today, minutes before this post. I have excel document callled Sprinklers which I have not opened in 6 months. It lists ti as opened on 10/19/2023 at 12:10 PM.
I am trying to understand if there is a probelm with oneDrive or is someone else accessing my documents through oneDrive.
Just browsing a folder will mark all subfolders and files as being accessed. It makes the information pretty much worthless as far as I'm concerned.
- Same issue here, has anyone discovered what is causing this?
PeterPete12
I have this same issue and was just looking at the on-demand settings for the files as per this troubleshooting post:
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/onedrive/change-in-files-on-demand-behaviour-in-recent-update-to-onedrive/m-p/3976707
I am giving that a try and will be keeping an eye on this behavior as well.- This has been very frustrating as you well know. If your problem was like mine you would see multiple word and excel documents showing up as accessed all at the same time and date in recents when those documents had not been touched for some time. As I have described previously I tried all the suggestions and none worked. Just yesterday I tried something new and it seems to help the problem at leaast for the last 2 days. I went to Settings, Personalization, Start. In Start you will see Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists and File Explorer. Mine was on. I turned it off and looked at File Exploreer and every Recent and quick access was gone. I went back to Show recently opened items in Start, Jump Lists and File Explorer and turned it on. My file explorer was empty but as I accessed documents all day yesterday and today it appears they are back to normal. Don't know if this is the solution or just dumb luck but so far so good.
It’s understandable that you’re concerned about the security of your files.
Based on your description, it’s possible that someone else is accessing your OneDrive files. However, it’s also possible that there is a problem with OneDrive itself.
To determine if someone else is accessing your files, you can check the sharing activity of your OneDrive files. You can do this by logging in to your OneDrive account and clicking on the Shared tab on the left side of the screen. This will show you a list of all files shared by you and files shared with you, along with the name of who shared it.
If you don’t see any suspicious activity in the Shared tab, it’s possible that there is a problem with OneDrive itself.
It’s important to ensure that your files are secure and only accessed by you. Here are a few possibilities and steps you can take:
1.Check OneDrive’s file permissions: Make sure you still have access to the file.
Reset OneDrive: This can help fix any problems with OneDrive, including the inability to open your files.
Check if the file is “On-Demand”: Files that are “On-Demand” might show up in recent files.
Check Storage Sense settings: Storage Sense can move files around, which might cause them to appear in recent files.
2.Clear cache and data: This can sometimes resolve issues with files appearing in recent files.
3.Check OneDrive settings: Make sure your settings are correct.
4.Disable Controlled Folder Access: This feature can sometimes cause issues with OneDrive.
5.Turn off your VPN connection: If you’re using a VPN, it might be causing issues with OneDrive.
6.Reinstall OneDrive: If none of the above steps work, you might need to reinstall OneDrive.
If none of these steps resolve your issue, it’s possible that another program is accessing your files in the background.Remember, it’s always a good idea to keep your software up-to-date and regularly change your passwords to ensure the security of your files.
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Hi, Was there any other things to try? Jimj68 did not have any luck with your suggestions. If it is a setting issue, then can you tell us what setting would sync older files or have them show up in File Explorer as Recents. I am not as concerned about security - but more about needing to find files that ARE INDEED Recent.
Thank you.I have the same issue, my documents show present time in the recent folder list. I have not shared these documents with any one. They are documents which I have accessed in the last week/ month but not opened at the time of the recent folder. This is concerning as I was scammed and double check if they had access but 2FA was set up?
I have been on hold with microsoft tech support for over an hour and still waiting
Deleted I have tried all of the suggested solutions. I had hoped that uninstalling and reinstalling onedrive would solve the issue but it persists. Hopefully I executed the steps correctly. I did have some difficulty figuring out how to clear the cache. One thing I have noticed is that the items that show up are predominately excel and word documents. They all have the same date time stamp. I have attached some from this morning to see if that helps explain the issue.
Sorry it has taken so long. I have been cautious because I do not want to anything.
