How to Enable or Disable Pin and Unpin Items on Jump Lists in Windows 11 Jump lists have been part of Windows since Windows 7, and they're still very much relevant in Windows 11 due to the convenience they provide for end users. However, this feature may also raise issues with inconsistency, support challenges, or even compliance concerns in managed environments. In this video, we'll walk through how to control whether users can pin or unpin items in jump lists on Windows 11. Before we begin, be sure to subscribe to NinjaOne's IT video hub and our YouTube channel for more tech content like this. 4 Ways to Configure the Pin and Unpin Items Function on Jump Lists Method 1: Group Policy Editor This method is only available on Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. Here are the steps: Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar. In the right pane, double-click Do not allow pinning items in jump lists. Choose your desired configuration. Selecting "Enabled" disables pinning and unpinning, while "Not Configured" or "Disabled" restores the default behavior. Click Apply, then OK. Restart File Explorer or sign out and back in. If the policy doesn't apply immediately, running a forced policy refresh with gpupdate /force usually resolves it. Method 2: Registry Editor Registry-based configuration is useful when Group Policy isn't available, or when you need to apply changes to individual systems. As always, back up the registry before making changes. Here are the steps: Press Win + R, type regedit, and press Enter. Navigate to: If the Explorer key does not exist, create it. In the right pane, right-click and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name the value NoPinningToDestinations. Configure the value to the following: Set the value to 1 to disable pinning and unpinning. Set the value to 0, or delete it entirely, to enable the feature. Close Registry Editor. Restart File Explorer to apply the change. Method 3: Command Prompt Command Prompt offers a fast, script-friendly alternative to manual registry editing. It's especially useful for remote sessions, legacy scripts, or environments with limited GUI access. Open Command Prompt as an administrator, then use either of the following commands: To disable pinning and unpinning: To enable pinning and unpinning: Method 4: PowerShell PowerShell is the best option when you need to automate jump list configuration across multiple machines, or integrate it into a deployment workflow. Here's one example script that disables pinning and unpinning: To re-enable the feature, remove the registry value or set it to 0. For full scripts, refer to the blog post linked below. Jump lists are a small feature, but controlling them can make a big difference in how consistent and manageable your Windows 11 environment is. Whether you're locking things down with Group Policy or automating changes with PowerShell, choosing the right method depends on scale, edition, and operational requirements. For more information, check out our official blog post on how to enable or disable the pin and unpin items on jump lists, linked in the description below.