Two Some sections of the Home page , 'My ToDo List' and 'My Pending Approvals', are displayed only if there is a content to display.
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alwaysShowMyPendingApprovals
alwaysShowMyPendingCreationWorkflows
alwaysShowMyToDos
The settings made here using the Advanced Configuration Options have lower priority than settings made in Configuration > Home Page (where you control visibility of the Home page panels).