How to Completely Disable ‘Shared Experiences’ via Group Policy in Windows 11

Shared Experiences (also known as “Share across devices”) is a feature in Windows 11 designed to allow users to start a task on one device and seamlessly continue it on another. It relies on Bluetooth, local network connections, and Microsoft Account synchronization to discover nearby devices and push application states across them. While useful for individuals deeply integrated into the Microsoft ecosystem with multiple personal PCs, this feature poses significant security and privacy concerns in a corporate enterprise environment. Organizations typically want to strictly isolate workstation sessions and prevent users from bridging data or application states between a managed corporate device and an unmanaged personal device.

This guide explains how to completely disable the Shared Experiences feature system-wide using the Group Policy Editor in Windows 11, ensuring absolute session isolation.

Disable Shared Experiences via Group Policy

To enforce a strict block that disables the cross-device communication protocols and removes the configuration options from the Windows Settings app, we must deploy an administrative template. Note that this requires Windows 11 Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions.

1. Log into Windows 11 with an Administrator account.
2. Press the Windows Key + R to open the Run dialogue box.
3. Type gpedit.msc and press Enter to launch the Local Group Policy Editor.
4. In the left-hand navigation pane, strictly follow this exact path:

   Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Group Policy

   Wait, the correct path is actually:

   Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > System > Group Policy > Continue experiences on this device

5. In the right-hand pane, locate the policy named Continue experiences on this device.
6. Double-click the policy to open its configuration window.
7. Select the radio button next to Disabled.
8. Click Apply, then click OK.

Verify the Configuration Lockdown

To enforce the change immediately across the system without requiring a full reboot, open an elevated Command Prompt and execute gpupdate /force.

To verify the restriction is active, open the Settings app and navigate to Apps > Advanced app settings > Share across devices (or System > Nearby sharing depending on the specific build of Windows 11, as Microsoft has reorganized these settings). The toggle switches related to discovering nearby devices and sharing app states will be greyed out and locked in the ‘Off’ position. A yellow banner or message will indicate that “Some of these settings are hidden or managed by your organization.” You have successfully prevented cross-device session bridging.