How to Customize Microsoft Store Homepage Recommendations to See Apps You Care About

If the Microsoft Store homepage shows apps and games that don’t interest you, you can customize these recommendations to better fit your preferences. By adjusting your settings, managing your app library and purchase history, and controlling privacy options, you help the Store learn what you like. This makes its suggestions more relevant to your interests over time.

Where to find Microsoft Store homepage recommendation settings

1. Open the Microsoft Store app on your Windows device.
2. Click your profile icon or account picture in the top right corner.
3. Select "Settings" from the dropdown menu.

In the Settings menu, you won’t find a dedicated "Recommendation" section. Instead, look for options related to personalization and app preferences. These influence what the Store shows on your homepage.

Additionally, on the homepage itself, look for category filters or "interests" selections near the top or bottom of the page. Interacting with these filters signals your preferences to the Store’s recommendation system.

How to update your preferences and activity to influence recommendations

The Microsoft Store adapts its recommendations based on your browsing, app installs, and interactions. To guide the Store toward your interests:

• Browse and spend time in categories you care about.
• Install or try apps that match your interests.
• Follow developers or publishers whose work you like.
• Rate and review apps you use.

Your activity effectively forms your preference profile, since there isn’t a direct "interests" list to fill out. For example, frequently browsing and rating productivity apps highly will make similar apps appear more often in your recommendations.

How your app library and purchase history affect what you see

The Microsoft Store uses your installed apps and purchase history to shape recommendations.

• If you have many games installed or purchased, the Store will suggest more games.
• If you focus on productivity or creative apps, recommendations will lean toward those.

To influence this:

1. Click your profile icon and select "My Library" to review your apps.
2. Uninstall apps you no longer use to reduce their influence on recommendations.
3. Check your purchase history under your account settings.
4. If available, hide or remove certain purchases to refine suggestions.

Managing these elements helps the Store better match your current interests.

How to clear or reset your Microsoft Store recommendations

The Microsoft Store doesn’t have a direct "reset recommendations" button, but you can refresh your recommendations by clearing cached data and adjusting your activity.

1. Close the Microsoft Store app.
2. Press Windows+R to open the Run dialog.
3. Type the following command and press Enter:

wsreset.exe

This clears the Store’s cache and temporary data that may affect recommendations.

4. Sign out and back into your Microsoft account within the Store app to refresh personalized data.
5. To reset activity that influences ads and recommendations, visit your Microsoft privacy dashboard online and clear browsing and app usage history.

Together, these steps help the Store rebuild your recommendation profile from scratch.

Adjusting privacy settings that impact personalized recommendations

Personalized recommendations rely on data Microsoft collects about your app usage and browsing. You can limit this data collection to control how personalized the Store experience is.

1. Open Windows Settings and go to Privacy.
2. Review options under "App diagnostics" and "Activity history."
3. Turn off settings like "Send Microsoft info about how I write" and disable activity history collection if you want to reduce data sharing.
4. In your Microsoft account online, access the Privacy dashboard to manage ad personalization and browsing history.
5. Disabling ad personalization reduces tailored suggestions but may lead to more generic recommendations.

Adjusting these settings lets you balance personalized recommendations with your privacy preferences.

Conclusion

To customize Microsoft Store homepage recommendations, engage with the Store by browsing and installing apps you like, manage your app library and purchase history, clear cached data, and adjust privacy settings. These steps help the Store better understand your interests. Remember, the Store updates its suggestions gradually based on your ongoing activity, so improvements will appear over time rather than instantly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I directly select my interests in the Microsoft Store to customize recommendations?

No, the Microsoft Store doesn’t offer a direct way to select interests. Instead, it learns from your browsing habits, app installs, ratings, and purchases to tailor recommendations.

Will uninstalling apps immediately change my Microsoft Store homepage suggestions?

Uninstalling apps affects recommendations, but changes aren’t immediate. The Store updates suggestions periodically based on your current app library and activity.

Is there a way to completely disable personalized recommendations in the Microsoft Store?

There’s no specific setting in the Store app to turn off personalized recommendations entirely. However, you can limit activity tracking and ad personalization through Windows privacy settings and your Microsoft account to reduce personalization.