Just like Windows 7 and previous iterations of Windows, Windows 8.1 also highlights newly installed programs/apps on the Apps screen. That is, when you install a new application, Windows highlights the same for the next couple of days so that you can easily identify it.
Update: This method doesn’t seem to work. Please check it and let us know in comments.
If you install multiple applications very often, your Apps screen (Apps view) will have several highlighted programs. Luckily, the feature isn’t as annoying as it was in Windows 7, as the color used to highlight newly installed programs is lighter version of the color used for the Apps screen background. Even though most users find this feature helpful and Windows 8.1 doesn’t add newly installed apps to the Start screen unlike Windows 8, there are several users who want to stop Windows from highlighting newly installed programs.
As you know, in Windows 7 and prior versions, we could navigate to Start menu settings to disable highlighting newly installed programs. Unfortunately, Microsoft has removed this option from Taskbar and Start menu properties in Windows 8.1, and you have no option but to manually edit Windows Registry in order to stop Windows from highlighting newly installed programs.
Stop highlighting newly installed apps
Follow the given below instructions to stop Windows from highlighting newly installed programs.
NOTE: We recommend you create a system restore point manually before editing Windows Registry.
Step 1: Open Registry Editor. To do so, simultaneously press Windows logo and R keys on your keyboard, in the resulting Run dialog box, type Regedit, and then press enter key. Click Yes button when you see the UAC prompt to launch Registry Editor.
Step 2: Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
Step 3: On the right-side, create a new DWORD (32-bit) value named “Start_NotifyNewApps” (without quotes) and set “0” (zero) as its value.
Step 4: Exit Registry Editor and reboot your PC to apply the changes. That’s it! From now on, Apps screen shouldn’t highlight newly installed programs.
And if you were looking for a way to turn off this feature via Group Policy, it turns out that there is no such option present under Group Policy. How to remove power button from Windows 8.1 Update Start screen guide might also interest you.
