Disable Shared Experiences in Windows 10: Step-by-Step

Shared Experiences in Windows 10 is a feature that lets you continue tasks across devices (like opening a webpage on your phone and picking it up on your PC) and share content through nearby sharing. If you don’t use these features, or you’re concerned about privacy and background activity, disabling it is straightforward. This guide shows you how to turn off Shared Experiences completely, either through the Settings app or the Group Policy Editor (for Windows 10 Pro and Enterprise). No special tools are needed—just a few minutes and your admin account.

What You’ll Need

• A Windows 10 PC with an administrator account (you’ll need it to change settings).
• If you’re on Windows 10 Home, you’ll use the Settings method. For Pro/Enterprise, you can also use Group Policy.

Step-by-Step

Method 1: Disable via Settings (All editions)

1. Press Windows key + I to open the Settings app.
2. Click System.
3. In the left sidebar, click Shared experiences.
4. Under “Cross-device sharing,� toggle the switch to Off. This turns off both “Nearby sharing� and “Continue on PC� features.
5. (Optional) If you want to keep nearby sharing but turn off only the “Continue on PC� feature, you can’t do that directly from this page—you’d need to disable the feature via Group Policy (see Method 2) or just leave it off. For most users, turning the whole toggle off is sufficient.

Method 2: Disable via Group Policy (Windows 10 Pro/Enterprise)

1. Press Windows key + R, type gpedit.msc, and press Enter. If prompted by UAC, click Yes.
2. Navigate to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > OS Policies.
3. Double-click the policy named Enable Shared Experiences.
4. Set it to Disabled.
5. Click OK.
6. Restart your PC to apply the change. (Or run gpupdate /force in Command Prompt to apply immediately.)

Common Mistakes

• Turning off the wrong toggle: In Settings, the “Cross-device sharingâ€� toggle controls both features. If you only want to disable “Continue on PC,â€� you might think you can turn off just that, but the toggle is all-or-nothing. Use Group Policy if you need finer control.
• Not restarting after Group Policy change: The policy change may not take effect until you restart or run gpupdate /force. Skipping this can make you think the setting didn’t work.
• Forgetting to check if your account is an admin: You need admin rights to change Group Policy. If you’re a standard user, you’ll get an error. Use the Settings method instead, which might allow standard users to toggle it off (though it’s still best to be an admin).

Tips

• Disable Nearby Sharing too: If you don’t use nearby sharing (sending files wirelessly to nearby devices), you can also turn it off separately in Settings > System > Nearby sharing (or within Shared experiences settings). This is a good idea if you’re on a public network and don’t want to receive unsolicited file transfers.
• Check other devices: Shared Experiences is tied to your Microsoft account. If you have the feature enabled on your phone or other PCs, you may still see prompts. Disable it on all devices to fully stop the behavior.
• Use Group Policy for domain PCs: If you’re an IT admin, you can deploy the Group Policy setting to multiple PCs via Active Directory, ensuring the feature stays off for all users.

Troubleshooting

If the setting doesn’t seem to stick or you still see “Continue on PCâ€� prompts:

• Check if the toggle turned back on: Sometimes Windows updates can reset settings. Go back to Settings > System > Shared experiences and confirm the toggle is off.
• Group Policy override: If you set the policy to Disabled but the toggle is still on, it could be that another policy (or a local policy) is overriding it. Run gpresult /h result.html in Command Prompt to see which policies are applied.
• Restart the “Connected Devices Platformâ€� service: Open Services (press Windows + R, type services.msc), find Connected Devices Platform, right-click and select Restart. This can help if the feature is still active in the background.
• Sign out and back in: Sometimes the setting doesn’t apply to your current session. Sign out of Windows and sign back in to force a refresh.
• If all else fails, use Registry Editor: (Advanced) Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\System. Create a DWORD (32-bit) named EnableSharedExperiences and set its value to 0. Restart your PC. This is the registry equivalent of the Group Policy setting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does disabling Shared Experiences affect my Microsoft account?

No. It only disables the cross-device features. Your account remains intact, and you can still use other Microsoft services like OneDrive or Office.

Will disabling it stop Windows from syncing settings between devices?

No. Windows settings sync (like theme, passwords, language) is controlled separately under Settings > Accounts > Sync your settings. Disabling Shared Experiences does not affect that.

Can I still use Nearby Sharing after disabling Shared Experiences?

No. Both Nearby Sharing and “Continue on PC� are part of Shared Experiences. If you turn off the main toggle, both are disabled. If you want to keep Nearby Sharing, you can turn it back on later—there’s no separate toggle for it in the same page, but you can enable it again from the same location.

Is there a way to disable only “Continue on PC� and keep Nearby Sharing?

Yes, but only via Group Policy. In the Group Policy editor, you can set “Enable Shared Experiences� to Disabled, which disables the whole feature. There isn’t a separate policy for just “Continue on PC.� Alternatively, you could leave the feature on and simply not use it—it doesn’t actively do anything unless you initiate a transfer.

Will disabling Shared Experiences improve performance or privacy?

Potentially. It stops background processes related to the feature, which can free up a tiny amount of system resources. It also prevents your PC from broadcasting or receiving nearby sharing requests, which is a minor privacy benefit. However, the impact is usually negligible.

What if I’m on Windows 10 Home and don’t have Group Policy?

Use the Settings method—it works on all editions. If you need more control, you can edit the registry manually as described in the troubleshooting section, but be careful and back up your registry first.

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