How to enable new Start menu settings websites and badges on Windows 11

On Windows 11 build 23419, you can enable an early preview of some new options that allow you to show recent website suggestions and disable account-related notifications in the Start menu.

If you have a device enrolled in the Dev Channel, in this latest preview of the operating system, Microsoft is now testing (via @PhantomOfEarth) at least two options for the Start menu, including the “Show websites from your browsing history” and the “Show account related notifications occasionally in Start” options. The first option suggests recent links in the “Recommended” section, and the second option enables or disables those orange badge notifications when action is required for things like applying an update.

If you want to get hands-on with the new feature, you can use a third-party tool called “ViveTool,” created by Rafael Rivera and Lucas on GitHub, to enable the option on your computer.

This guide will teach you the steps to turn on this new feature on Windows 11.

Enable new Start menu settings on Windows 11

To enable the new settings manage websites suggestions and badge notifications in the Start menu, use these steps:

1. Open GitHub website.

2. Download the ViveTool-vx.x.x.zip file to enable the Dev Drive creation settings.

3. Double-click the zip folder to open it with File Explorer.

4. Click the Extract all button.

5. Click the Extract button.

6. Copy the path to the folder.

7. Open Start.

8. Search for Command Prompt, right-click the top result, and select the Run as administrator option.

9. Type the following command to navigate to the ViveTool folder and press Enter:

   cd c:folderpathViveTool-v0.x.x

   In the command, remember to change the path to the folder with your path.

10. Type the following command to enable the new settings to show recent websites suggestions in Start and press Enter:

    vivetool /enable /id:42905461

11. Type the following command to enable the new settings to show recent websites suggestions in Start and press Enter:

    vivetool /enable /id:41981645

12. Restart the computer.

Once you complete the steps, on the “Start” settings page, you will find two new options, including “Show websites from your browsing history,” which suggests recent links in the “Recommended” (For You) section, and the “Show account related notifications occasionally in Start” option to disable the dot badge for updates and other notifications. 

If you change your mind, you can revert the changes with the same instructions, but on step 10, make sure to use the vivetool /disable /id:42905461 and vivetool /disable /id:41981645 commands and then restart the computer.

Source: Pureinfotech